;     , 


A  MODEL  SUPERINTENDENT 

s 

A   SKETCH   OF 

THE  LIFE,  CHARACTER,  AND  METHODS  OF   WORK 

or 

HENRY  P.  HAVEN 

OF  THE  INTERNATIONAL  LESSON  COMMITTEE 


II.    CLAY    TRUMBULL 

KDITOK  OF  "THE  SUNDAY-SCHOOL  T1XKS" 


NEW    YORK 

HARPER    &     BROTHERS,    PUBLISHERS 

FRANKLIN      S  Q  V  A  R  K 

1880 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1880,  by 

HARPER    &    BROTHERS, 
In  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington. 


INTRODUCTORY  NOTE. 


No  exhibit  of  a  right  spirit  and  of  wise  methods  in 
any  sphere  of  human  activity  is  so  effective  as  when 
shown  in  a  life  that  has  been  actually  lived.  There  is  a 
temptation  to  question  whether  any  ideal  of  a  symmet- 
rical character  is  practically  attainable.  It  is  useless  to 
deny  that  what  a  man  has  been  and  has  done  is  a  possi- 
bility, in  spite  of  all  obstacles.  Therefore  it  is  that  the 
best  working  model  for  Sunday-school  superintendents 
is — a  model  superintendent.  The  subject  of  this  sketch 
furnishes  such  a  model ;  not  a  faultless  pattern  for  exact 
reproduction,  but  an  illustrative  model  to  work  by  and 
to  improve  on.  Mr.  Haven  might  have  been  presented 
as  a  model  man  of  business,  as  a  model  citizen,  as  a 
model  Christian  steward  ;  for  his  course  in  each  of 
those  spheres  was  worthy  of  imitation.  But  his  pre-em- 
inent success  was  as  a  Sunday-school  superintendent ; 
therefore  about  that  department  of  his  varied  activities 
the  facts  of  this  story  of  his  life  are  clustered. 


CONTENTS. 


I. 

BEGINNINGS:  Page 

Of  the  Sunday  -  school  System ;  of  Mr.  Haven's  Life ;  of  his  Boy- 
hood's Sunday-school;  of  his  Business  Career;  of  his  Christian 
Course 1 

II. 

A   COUNTRY  SUNDAY-SCHOOL: 

Its  Unlooked-for  Beginning ;  its  Unpromising  Field ;  its  System  and 
Thoroughness;  its  Advanced  Methods;  its  Faithful  Continuance; 
its  Influence  and  Results ;  its  Purifying  hy  Fire ;  its  Memorial 
Chapel 12 

III. 

A   CITY  SUNDAY-SCHOOL. 

Exercises  of  Worship ;  Plans  for  Punctuality ;  Cultivation  of  Benefi- 
cence, ;  Modes  of  Bible  Study ;  Ways  of  Winniny  Souls ;  Outside 
Evangelism 25 

IV. 

METHODS  AND  HELPS: 

In  the  Study;  with  the  Teachers;  in  the  Desk;  icith  the  Scholars; 
among  the  Records ;  at  Special  Services 39 


vi  Contents. 

V. 

BUSINESS  ACTIVITIES. 

Page 

Religion  and  Business;  M'hale  Fisheries;  Sea  -  Elephant  Hunting; 
( ,'ttano  Gathering  ;  Seal  Catching  ;  Polar  Researches ;  Railroading 
and  Hanking 91 

VI. 

PUBLIC  SERVICES. 

Outside  Sunday-school  Work;  Lay  Preaching;  Arranging  the  Inter- 
national Lessons;  Promoting  Common-school  Interests;  Working 
n-ith  Benevolent  Societies;  In  Denominational  Gatherings;  A  Dele- 
gate to  Great  Britain ;  Political  Services 1 20 

VII. 

BENEFICENCES. 

Christian  Stewardship;  Systematic  Giving;  Enjoying  Self-denial; 
Fidelity  Tested;  Provoking  Others  to  Good  Works;  Giving  by 
Proxy ;  A  Providential  Donation  ;  Increasing  the  Ministry  ;  Post- 
humous Charities 137 

VIII. 

CHARACTER  AND    CHARACTERISTICS. 

Character  in  Perspective ;  Power  of  Concentration ;  Power  of  Discon- 
nection; Power  of  Secretiveness ;  Attention  to  System;  Geniality 
and  Humor  ;  Home  Traits;  Love  of  the  Bible;  Faith  in  Sorrow  ; 
Faith  ia  Danger;  Readiness  to  Forgive;  Readiness  to  Depart 152 


I. 

BEGINNINGS: 

Of  the  Sunday -school  System ;  of  Mr.  Haven's  Life ;  of  his  Boy- 
hood's Sunday-school ;  of  his  Business  Career;  of  Ids  Chris- 
tian Course. 

WHATEVER  may  be  said  of  the  early  origin  of 
church  work  for  children  as  the  germ  of  the  mod- 
ern Sunday-school,  it  is  an  unquestionable  truth 
that  the  American  Sunday-school  system  is  a  thing 
of  recent  growth.  Its  beginnings  were  at  the  close 
of  the  last  century ;  its  foundations  were  fairly 
laid  in  the  first  third  of  this.  The  men  who  gave 
it  shape  have  but  just  passed  away.  Their  num- 
ber was  not  large  at  the  best ;  and,  apart  from  any 
interest  in  the  men  themselves,  their  methods  of 
work  are  worth  studying ;  for  in  them  are  the 
germs  or  the  patterns  of  all  measures  and  machin- 
ery which  give  highest  promise  of  success  in  the 
Sunday-school  field  of  to-day. 

The  story  of  Henry  P.  Haven  is  perhaps  as  well 
suited  to  illustrate  the  beginnings  and  progress,  and 


SKCTION  I. 
Beginnings. 


Recent 
origin  of 
the'  Ameri- 
can Sun  day- 
school. 


A  Model  Superintendent. 


SECTION  I. 
Beginnings. 


A  Sunday- 
school 
product, 
am!  a  Sun- 
day-school 
pioneer. 


the  possibilities  and  methods,  of  the  American 
Sunday-school  as  that  of  any  man  who  could  be 
named.  He  was,  in  a  sense,  a  product  of  the  ear- 
lier American  Sunday-school,  and  a  pioneer  in  its 
later  advances.  He  was  a  poor  boy  in  the  Sunday- 
school;  he  was  an  untrained  teacher  there  ;  he  was  a 
superintendent  before  there  were  any  such  helps  as 
now  to  a  superintendent's  work  ;  he  was  a  pioneer 
in  plans  of  effort  to  build  up  and  to  conduct  a  Sun- 
day-school ;  he  was  in  church-school  work,  in  mis- 
sion-school work,  in  work  in  a  scattered  country 
neighborhood,  and  in  work  in  a  compact  city  cen- 
tre ;  he  was  a  rich  man,  and  a  busy  one,  who  found 
time  for  Sunday-school  work  ;  he  was  a  man  of 
culture  and  an  experienced  worker  in  the  Sunday- 
school  ;  he  was  a  man  of  inventive  genius,  contin- 
ually trying  new  plans  and  appliances  in  Sunday- 
school  service  ;  he  was  a  man  of  sound  sense,  of 
good  taste,  and  of  reverent  Christian  spirit  in  the 
selection  and  adaptation  of  means  and  methods  of 
work  ',  he  was  a  teacher  of  teachers,  a  leader  of  in- 
stitutes and  normal  classes;  he  was  a  student  of 
the  best  literature  of  this  theme  from  Great  Brit- 
ain as  well  as  from  America  ;  he  was  a  close  and 
thorough  Bible  student  ;  he  had  a  wide  range  of 
personal  observation  in  Sunday-school  methods 
throughout  his  own  land  and  abroad  ;  he  had  an 
international  prominence,  as  a  member  of  the  first 
committee  appointed  to  select  Bible  lessons  for  the 


Parentage  and  Childhood. 


Sunday-schools  of  the  English-speaking  world.  In 
fact,  there  is  no  person  in  the  Sunday-school  as 
scholar,  teacher,  or  officer,  in  any  condition  of  life 
or  in  any  kind  of  community,  who  could  not  find 
a  lesson  for  his  guidance  and  ground  for  his  en- 
couragement in  the  labors  and  successes  of  this 
faithful  and  effective  toiler.  Moreover,  if  the 
writer  of  this  sketch  were  asked  to  tell  how,  in 
his  opinion,  a  Sunday-school  teacher  or  superin- 
tendent could  best  discharge  all  the  several  duties 
of  such  a  position,  or  to  say  who,  so  far  as  his 
knowledge  extended,  was,  all  things  considered, 
the  best  pattern  of  personal  Sunday-school  work 
in  its  every  department,  he  could  not  better  an- 
swer the  question  than  by  pointing  to  Henry  P. 
Haven,  and  giving  the  record  of  the  man  and  his 
methods.  Such  a  story  is  surely  worth  the  tell- 
ing. If  rightly  told,  it  is  worth  the  hearing. 

And,  first,  it  is  important  to  look  at  Mr.  Haven's 
childhood ;  for  it  is  in  childhood  that  we  find  the 
germs  of  a  man's  true  character;  and  commonly 
it  is  found  that  both  his  character  and  his  course 
in  life  are  given  their  supreme  direction  before  he 
is  seven  years  old. 

HENRY  PHILEMON  HAVEN  was  born  of  substan- 
tial Xew  England  stock,  in  Norwich,  Connecticut, 
February  11,  1815.  When  he  was  about  four 
years  old  his  father  died.  His  mother — then  a 


SKOTION  I. 
Beginnings. 


The  worth 
of  a  good 
model. 


Birth  and 
parentage. 


A  Model  Superintendent. 


SECTION  L 
Beginnings. 


A  farm-col- 
lege course. 


second  time  widowed — was  left  with  five  children, 
and  no  property  beyond  her  little  home,  compris- 
ing an  acre  of  land,  from  the  proceeds  of  which 
her  annual  income  did  not  at  any  time  exceed  one 
hundred  dollars.  Henry  was  next  to  the  young- 
est child ;  but,  as  the  only  son  at  home,  he  was 
early  called  to  important  responsibilities  for  the 
household.  And  for  this  he  had  reason  to  be 
thankful.  "It  is  good  for  a  man  that  he  bear 
the  yoke  in  his  youth." 

President  Porter  of  Yale  has  said  that  the  great 
advantage  of  a  collegiate  training  to  a  young  man 
is,  that  he  learns  to  do  what  he  ought  to  do  at  a 
proper  time  whether  he  wants  to  do  it  or  not.  In 
this  sense  young  Haven  had  the  benefit  of  a  col- 
lege course  very  early.  From  the  time  he  was 
seven  years  old,  he  chopped  all  the  firewood  for 
the  household.  Being  too  small  to  swing  an  axe, 
he  made  a  hatchet  do  double  duty.  He  learned 
then  the  important  Sunday-school  lesson,  that  it  is 
not  so  much  the  tools  used  as  the  way  of  using 
them  that  gives  success,  and  that  it  is  better  to 
avail  yourself  of  an  instrument  yon  can  handle 
than  to  reach  after  one  which  is  beyond  your 
measure.  At  the  age  of  eight  the  lad  did  nearly 
all  the  farm-work  on  the  homestead.  Kot  until 
he  was  fifteen  years  old  did  he  have  his  first  suit 
of  new  clothes.  Until  then  old  garments  had 
been  made  over  for  him  by  his  frugal  mother. 


Home  and  /School  Training. 


He  was  little  tempted  to  pride  of  dress  or  of  per- 
sonal display.  His  pride  was  an  honest  pride 
in  caring  successfully  for  his  mother  and  sisters. 
He  "felt  like  a  king,"  he  said,  when  his  mother 
bought  her  first  cow  and  it  was  given  to  him  in 
charge.  And  he  ruled  well  in  his  little  kingdom 

o  o 

—  so  well  that  God  gave  him  larger  power  and 
greater  possessions. 

Beyond  attendance  at  the  imperfect  public 
schools  of  that  period,  young  Haven  was  for  two 
terms  at  a  select  school,  where  the  tuition  was 
five  dollars  a  term.  To  meet  this  expense  he 
borrowed  the  money,  which  he  returned  from  his 
earliest  subsequent  earnings.  And  from  that  time 
forward  he  had  warm  sympathy  with  young  men 
who  needed  help  in  their  honest  struggle  for  an 
education.  He  was  sure,  from  both  experience 
and  observation,  that  it  did  not  destroy  a  young 
man's  manliness  or  diminish  his  prospects  of  suc- 
cess in  life  to  give  him  timely  and  judicious  aid 
in  the  line  of  his  noblest  endeavors. 

But  it  was  to  the  Sunday-school  —  the  school 
of  the  First  Congregational  Church  of  Norwich 
Town — that  Mr.  Haven  owed  most  for  the  influ- 
ences which,  in  conjunction  with  those  at  his  god- 
ly New-England  home,  shaped  his  character  and 
directed  his  course  for  good.  He  used  often  to 
say  that  it  was  the  Sunday-school  which  made 
him.  It  would  be  better  to  sav  that  he  was  one 


SECTION  I. 
Beginnings. 


things. 


Wise  bor- 
rowing 


A  Model  /Superintendent. 


SECTION  I. 
Beginnings. 


Co-opcra- 
tiori  of  fam- 
ily and  Sun- 
day-school. 


Contending 
with  the 
rabbis. 


of  the  bright  illustrations  of  the  truth  that  a  child 
trained  in  a  good  home  and  a  good  Sunday-school 
fares  better,  and  is  likely  to  do  better,  than  one 
trained  only  in  a  good  home ;  and  that  no  home  is 
so  good  that  a  child  ought  to  be  left  alone  to  its 
influences  when  he  can  have  in  addition  thereto 
the  divinely  ordained  and  the  divinely  directed 
influences  of  the  Christian  church  in  the  church- 
school — the  Sunday-school.  The  school  of  that 
first  church  which  Mr.  Haven  attended  had  a 
history  so  peculiar  as  to  be  worthy  of  special 
mention  just  here. 

About  the  time  of  Mr.  Haven's  birth,  a  little 
girl  about  twelve  years  of  age — Harriet  Lathrop 
by  name  —  living  near  his  fathers  house,  was 
brought  to  a  loving  trust  in  Jesus,  out  of  a  family 
where  none  were  yet  Christian  disciples.  Soon 
after  her  open  confession  of  faith,  she  went  to 
New  York,  and  there  became  acquainted  with  the 
Sunday-school  work  of  Divie  Bethune.  Return- 
ing to  her  Norwich  home,  she  gathered  a  few 
children  to  teach  them  on  Sunday  noons  in  the 
church  gallery.  The  church  authorities,  unwill- 
ing to  countenance  such  an  innovation,  ordered 
her  to  leave  the  church  with  her  little  charge. 
She  went,  accordingly,  to  the  school -house  near 
by;  but  she  was  shut  out  from  that.  Then  she 
tried  the  court-house ;  but  she  was  not  unmolest- 
ed there.  Determined  to  persevere  in  what  she 


A  Fifty  Yeans1  Itecord. 


was  sure  was  a  good  work,  she  taught  the  chil- 
dren in  the  church  porch  until  the  way  was  final- 
ly opened  for  her  to  gather  them  again  in  the  gal- 
leries. In  that  little  Sunday-school,  in  its  earlier 
and  feebler  days,  Henry  P.  Haven  received  some 
of  his  first  religious  impressions,  and  learned  to 
love  that  agency  by  which  he  subsequently  did  so 
much  for  the  children's  Saviour. 

Think  of  this,  you  who  are  beginners  in  what 
seems  an  insignificant  and  an  unappreciated  ser- 
vice !  Are  your  trials  greater  than  were  those  of 
that  little  girl  in  Xorwich  ?  "Would  you  ask  for  a 
greater  reward  than  hers  ?  Her  father  and  moth- 
er and  every  other  member  of  the  family  followed 
her  into  the  church  fold.  She  herself  toiled  as 
a  missionary's  wife  in  Ceylon  —  the  wife  of  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Myron  "Winslow.  At  the  fiftieth  anni- 
versary of  the  Sunday-school  she  organized,  and 
with  which  she  was  at  first  driven  from  place  to 
place  relentlessly,  the  report  was  made  that  twen- 
ty-six ministers  of  Christ  and  hundreds  of  other 
Christian  workers  had  already  gone  out  from  that 
nursery  of  piet}r,  that  training-school  of  devotion. 
Even  if  no  other  scholar  than  Henry  P.  Haven 
had  been  influenced  and  instructed  there,  would 
not  the  result  have  amply  repaid  for  all  the  labor 
and  trials  through  which  that  school  was  finally 
established  ?  As  its  young  founder  welcomed  into 
the  heavenly  throng  that  one  scholar  out  of  the 


SECTION  I. 
Beginnings. 


What  came 
of  one  girl's 
faithful- 
ness. 


A  Model  Superintendent. 


SECTION  I. 
Beginnings. 


A  new 

home,  and  a 
new  work. 


group  of  boys  and  girls  who  were  long  ago  taught 
in  her  Norwich  home,  as  he  came  up  rejoicing  on 
a  Lord's -day  morning,  bringing  his  sheaves  with 
him,  do  you  doubt  that  she  praised  God  anew  that 
her  light  affliction,  which  was  but  for  a  moment, 
had  wrought  out  for  her  "a  far  more  exceeding 
and  eternal  weight  of  glory?"  Let.  none  of  you 
count  your  feeblest  service  unimportant,  your 
weightiest  trials  in  this  cause  worthy  of  serious 
consideration,  in  the  light  of  such  an  example. 

When  young  Haven  was  only  fifteen,  his  mother 
moved  to  New  London.  There  he  was  indent- 
ured to  Major  Thomas  W.  Williams,  a  prominent 
ship-owner  and  merchant  of  that  seaport.  The 
boy  was  to  have  ninety  dollars  for  his  first  year's 
wages,  one  hundred  and  twenty  for  each  of  the 
next  two  years,  and  one  hundred  and  fifty  a  year 
for  the  remaining  period  of  his  apprenticeship. 
Out  of  this  sum  he  was  to  pay  his  board  and  other 
living  expenses.  There  was  not  much  temptation 
to  extravagance  in  the  disposition  of  that  income ! 
It  would  be  easy  to  get  up  a  labor  riot  on  that 
scale  of  wages  for  the  coal-heavers  of  to-day.  But 
young  Haven  was  less  concerned  about  what  he 
was  getting  than  what  he  was  doing.  His  anx- 
iety was  to  fill  his  place  rather  than  his  pocket. 
The  question  with  him  was  never,  How  little  work 
will  answer  here  ?  but  always,  How  much  can  I 
here  do  to  advantage?  He  hoped  to  have  promo- 


Working  his  Way  Up. 


SECTION  I. 
Begrimiing*. 


A  bitter 
dteappoint- 


tion.  lie  was  determined  to  deserve  it.  As  illus- 
trative of  his  energy  and  of  his  honorable  ambi- 
tion, this  incident  may  be  mentioned.  While  he 
was  youngest  clerk,  next  above  him  was  the  book- 
keeper. When,  soon  after  Haven  began  work  for 
Major  Williams,  the  book-keeper's  time  expired 
and  a  new  engagement  was  made  with  him  for 
two  years  more,  Haven  was  disappointed  that  he 
had  not  been  promoted.  lie  actually  went  home 
to  his  mother  in  tears,  and  told  her  that  he  could  menu 
now  never  get  above  a  boy's  place  ;  the  one  chance 
of  his  life  was  gone.  Nor  is  the  boy's  grief  in 
this  disappointment  to  be  laughed  at.  Who  has 
not  had  some  such  dark  hour  in  his  life-struggles 
over  a  cause  as  unimportant  as  this  ?  He  who 
cannot  be  disappointed  through  failure  is  not  like- 
ly to  make  any  high  attainment  in  his  sphere. 
But  disappointment,  however  it  grieves  one,  should 
never  deter  from  new  effort.  It  did  not  in  the 
case  of  young  Haven.  He  kept  at  his  work,  even 
though  for  a  time  with  a  heavy  heart.  Xor  did 
lie  persevere  in  vain. 

Before  long  the  book-keeper  gave  up  his  place,  Fresh  hope, 
and  again  there  was  hope  in  young  Haven's  mind. 
He  then  asked  if  he  might  try  his  hand  at  keep- 
ing the  books.  He  was  told  that  he  was  quite  too 
young  to  manage  them ;  but,  on  his  pressing  the 
point,  consent  was  given  to  his  making  the  at- 
tempt. Then  it  was  that  all  his  energies  were 


10 


A  Model  /Superintendent. 


SK(!TtON  I. 

Beginnings. 


At  it  day 
and  night. 


Promoted. 


fairly  aroused  to  a  great  effort,  and  that  he  showed 
some  of  those  qualities  which  made  his  life  in  so 
large  measure  a  success  and  a  pattern.  During 
his  trial  at  the  books  he  had  all  his  former  work 
in  the  store  to  attend  to ;  for  he  had  not  yet  been 
promoted — he  was  only  seeking  to  show  that  he 
deserved  to  be.  He  worked  determinedly,  early 
and  late.  On  at  least  one  occasion  he  was  at  the 
store  until  two  in  the  morning,  and  back  again 
for  a  new  day  at  four.  Such  work  by  such  a  boy 
told.  When  the  first  of  January  came  around,  a 
yearly  balance-sheet  was  drawn  off  more  easily 
than  ever  before.  Then  his  position  was  secure. 
He  was  clearly  too  valuable  for  the  lowest  place 
in  such  an  establishment. 

At  nineteen,  when  he  was  to  have  received  one 
hundred  and  fifty  dollars  a  year,  his  wages  were 
unexpectedly  advanced  to  four  hundred  dollars. 
When  his  apprenticeship  was  completed,  at  his 
majority,  he  was  employed  as  a  confidential  clerk 
at  five  hundred  dollars.  Two  years  later  he  be- 
came a  partner  in  the  business  establishment,  in 
which  he  continued  until  his  death.  His  indus- 
try, his  energy,  and  his  unflinching  devotion  to 
duty — not  his  genius,  nor  yet  any  remarkable  op- 
portunities— gave  him  a  fair  start  in  the  business 
of  his  life.  All  that  he  gained  he  worked  for. 
And  he  was  willing  to  work  for  it.  He  did  not 
expect  to  gain  anything  without  work — hard  work, 
persevering  work. 


Reaching  Out. 


11 


So  much  for  the  boyhood  and  youth  of  Mr. 
Haven  —  the  days  of  his  training  for  efficient 
Christian  service.  It  was  in  the  latter  part  of  his 
apprenticeship  that  he  made  a  public  confession 
of  his  faith  in  Jesus  by  a  connection  of  himself 
with  the  Second  Congregational  Church  in  New 
London.  He  was  already  in  the  Sunday-school  as 
a  teacher,  having  been  given  that  position  when 
but  fifteen  years  old  ;  and  he  was  conscientious  in 
the  discharge  of  its  duties ;  but  now  he  had  it  in 
his  heart  to  do  more.  He  was  not  contented  to 
sit  down  in  a  well-organized  city  Sunday-school 
while  there  were  so  many  neighborhoods  yet  lack- 
ing the  privileges  of  that  agency  which  he  had 
first  learned  to  prize  in  his  boyhood's  home. 


SEOTION  I. 
Beginnings. 


Work 
looked  for. 


12 


A  Model  Superintendent. 


SECTION  II. 

A  Country 
Suiiday- 
Bchool. 


Work 
pointed  out. 


Work 
needed. 


II. 

A  COUNTRY  SUNDAY-SCHOOL: 

Its  Unlooked-for  Beginning;  its  Unpromising  Field;  its  System 
and  Thoroughness;  its  Advanced  Methods;  its  Faithful  Con- 
tinuance; its  Influence  and  Results;  its  Purifying  by  Fire;  its 
Memorial  Chapel. 

ONE  Sunday  morning  in  May,  1836,  Mr.  Haven, 
then  twenty-one  years  old,  asked  his  superintend- 
ent, just  before  the  opening  of  the  school  session, 
if  he  knew  of  any  place  where  neighborhood  mis- 
sion work  was  needed  in  the  country  about  New 
London.  "  Certainly  I  do,"  was  the  superintend- 
ent's reply.  "A  man  is  to  call  here  this  very 
morning  from  a  district  in  "Waterford  to  see  if  he 
can  get  some  one  to  start  a  Sunday-school  there. 
There  is  the  place  for  you.  Go  with  him."  The 
suddenness  of  this  opening  startled  Mr.  Haven. 
He  was  at  first  disposed  to  consider  the  question 
further.  "  There's  no  time  like  the  present,"  said 
the  good  superintendent.  "  The  Lord  wants  you. 
Go  at  once."  The  young  teacher  went  accord- 
ingly. 

The  district  referred  to  was  by  no  means  a 
promising  one  for  Christian  activities.  Although 


A  Noteworthy  Service. 


13 


the  population  there  was  scanty,  rum-selling  and 
drunkenness  were  common,  and  there  were  houses 
of  vilest  repute.  It  had  been  made  a  sink  of  in- 
iquity by  the  worst  class  of  evil-doers  from  the 
neighboring  seaport  town.  Religious  influences 
had  been  until  then  almost  unknown  there.  They 
were  by  no  means  welcomed  by  a  considerable 
portion  of  the  little  community.  But  a  Sunday- 
school  was  begun  there  on  the  afternoon  of  that 
bright  May  day,  with  nine  scholars  and  seven 
teachers,  under  the  lead  of  the  young  and  inex- 
perienced but  earnest  and  faith-filled  superintend- 
ent from  New  London.  The  work  thus  initiated 
was  never  abandoned.  Mr.  Haven  persevered  in 
it  until  the  end  of  his  earthly  course.  He  was 
preparing  for  the  fortieth  anniversary  of  that 
Sunday-school  when  he  finally  entered  into  rest. 

In  that  little  "VVaterford  Sunday-school  Mr.  Ha- 
ven did  perhaps  the  most  noteworthy  service  of 
his  life — certainly  the  service  which  best  exhib- 
ited his  spirit,  illustrated  his  methods,  and  evi- 
denced the  results  of  his  labor  as  a  representative 
Sunday-school  worker.  From  the  days  of  Naa- 
man  down,  men  have  always  been  readier  to  un- 
dertake "some  great  thing"  than  to  do  a  simple 
one  as  a  test  of  their  faith.  There  is  some  in- 
ducement to  a  young  man  to  take  charge  of  a 
church- school  already  established,  or  to  organize 
a  city  mission-school  where  there  is  a  prospect  of 


SECTION  II. 

A  Country 
Sunday- 
school. 


Work  perse- 
vered in. 


A  good  work 

unnoticed. 


14: 


A  Model  /Superintendent. 


SECTION  II. 
A  Country 
Sunday- 
school. 


A  good  work 
well  done. 


rapid  growth,  and  the  stimulus  of  an  observing 
multitude.  He  may  even  be  prompt  to  start  a 
new  school  in  a  country  district,  and  to  keep  it  up 
so  long  as  it  is  a  novelty  and  the  weather  is  fair. 
But  to  go  into  a  back  district  where,  at  the  most, 
only  a  score  or  two  of  people  may  be  gathered, 
and  there  to  toil  on,  summer  and  winter,  year 
after  year,  comparatively  unnoticed,  and  with  but 
small  apparent  results  of  work  attainable,  is  by  no 
means  so  tempting  a  service.  It  requires  charac- 
ter and  faith.  It  demands  a  spirit  of  consecration 
and  a  degree  of  earnestness  and  tenacity  of  pur- 
pose found  only  rarely  among  Christian  disciples. 
Mr.  Haven,  however,  more  than  met  the  fullest 
requirements  of  a  service  like  this. 

Had  Mr.  Haven  been  in  charge  of  Philadel- 
phia's Bethany  Sunday-school  or  the  school  at 
Akron,  he  could  not  have  been  more  systematic 
and  thorough  or  more  quietly  enthusiastic  in  his 
work  than  he  was  at  Waterford.  If,  on  the  other 
hand,  the  best  Sunday-school  worker  of  to-day 
from  Chicago,  New  York,  or  Plainfield,  could  look 
in  upon  that  little  school  as  it  was  planned  and 
conducted  by  Mr.  Haven  forty  years  ago,  he 
would  be  compelled  to  admit  that  comparatively 
few  of  the  Sunday-schools  of  now,  in  country 
or  city,  are  up  to  its  standard  of  then,  either  in 
spirit  or  in  wise  methods  of  management  and  di- 
rection. 


/System  and  Thoroughness. 


The  Waterford  school  was  carefully  classified. 
Scholars  who  belonged  together  were  put  togeth- 
er. Teachers  were  assigned  to  duty  according  to 
their  special  fitness.  There  was  a  uniform  lesson 
in  the  school.  All  studied  the  same  passage  of 
Scripture.  Exercises  of  worship  were  an  impor- 
tant part  of  the  school  service — exercises  in  which 
teachers  and  scholars  had  a  part  with  the  super- 
intendent. A  select  number  of  the  Psalms  were 
printed  expressly  for  responsive  reading  in  that 
school.  Appropriate  hymns  were  also  printed  for 
use  there.  Portions  of  Scripture  were  memorized 
and  recited  by  all  in  unison.  A  register  of  the 
school  membership  was  opened  at  the  start ;  also  a 
record  of  the  attendance  of  each  teacher  and  schol- 
ar separately ;  a  running  history  of  the  school 
work  and  progress ;  and  a  special  historical  record 
of  each  member  of  the  school.  A  teachers'  meet- 
ing and  a  normal  class  were  likewise  started  on 
the  first  day  of  the  new  Sunday-school.  After  the 
ordinary  session  of  the  school,  the  teachers  were 
brought  together  in  a  class.  The  next  Sunday's 
lesson  was  taken  up  and  studied  by  them  under 
their  superintendent's  lead — studied  with  a  view 
to  ascertaining  both  the  substance  of  the  lesson 
and  the  best  methods  of  its  teaching.  A  judicious 
system  of  marks  and  rewards  was  introduced  into 
the  school.  All  these  plans  looked  to  thorough- 
ness and  permanency.  There  was  a  completeness 


SECTION  II. 
A  Country 
Sunday- 
school. 


How  the 
work  was 
duiie. 


Advanced 
methods. 


.16 


A  Model  Superintendent. 


SECTION  II. 

A  Country 
Sunday- 
school. 


Originality 
in  plans. 


God  honors 
willingness. 


and  symmetry  about  them  which  are  only  too  rare 
in  similar  work  at  the  present  day. 

When  it  is  borne  in  mind  that  the  methods  of 
Sunday-school  work  of  forty  years  ago  were  gen- 
erally unscientific  and  primitive  ;  that  the  helps 
to  its  prosecution  were  few ;  that  a  worker  in  this 
sphere  was  at  that  time  largely  dependent  on  his 
own  ingenuity  and  good  judgment  in  devising 
plans  of  action  and  in  adapting  old  ones  to  new 
needs ;  that  the  superintendent  of  this  Waterford 
school  was  at  its  start  barely  twenty -one  years 
old ;  that  until  he  was  fifteen  he  had  toiled  as  a 
farm  boy,  shut  out  from  intercourse  with  the  ex- 
perienced Sunday-school  workers  of  that  period ; 
that  the  school  itself  was  in  a  country  neighbor- 
hood, some  four  miles  from  the  superintendent's 
home,  where  only  three  houses  were  in  sight  of 
its  little  brick  school-house — when  these  facts  are 
taken  into  account,  can  there  be  any  question  that 
very  large  credit  is  due  to  Henry  P.  Haven  as  a 
man  of  originality  and  wisdom  in  the  department 
of  Sunday-school  method  ?  Moreover,  in  view  of 
his  success,  notwithstanding  his  limitations,  is  not 
his  case  an  illustration  of  the  truth  that  a  Chris- 
tian worker  need  not  deem  himself  dependent  on 
the  latest  inventions  of  other  laborers  in  his  sphere 
to  enable  him  to  fill  his  place  acceptably  wherever 
God  has  summoned  him  to  service  ?  If  any  man 
would  do  God's  will,  he  shall  have  the  opportn- 


Faithful  Continuance. 


17 


SECTION  II. 

A  Country 
Sunday- 
school. 


Winter  ees- 
sious. 


nity.  God  will  honor  and  make  effective  the  two 
talents  or  the  ten  which  he  brings  with  him  heart- 
ily ;  and  the  Holy  Spirit  will  teach  him  according 
to  his  needs  and  his  faith. 

But  the  Waterford  school  was  quite  as  remark- 
able for  its  continuance  as  for  its  founding  and 
its  plans.  Many  a  neighborhood  Sunday -school 
which  has  been  bravely  started  has  dwindled  away 
when  the  novelty  of  its  organization  has  passed, 
and  finally  been  wholly  abandoned.  Many  anoth- 
er which  has  been  flourishing  in  pleasant  weather 
has  been  closed  on  the  approach  of  winter.  In- 
deed, a  winter  Sunday-school  in  the  country  was  a 
rare  exception  forty  years  ago.  When,  however, 
the  first  winter  of  the  Waterford  Sunday-school 
came  on,  Mr.  Haven  looked  the  question  of  a  va- 
cation fairly  in  the  face,  as  one  to  be  settled  on  its 
merits  rather  than  by  the  fashion  of  the  day.  Al- 
though the  ride,  or  the  walk,  from  his  home  might 
be  a  tedious  one  in  'mid-winter,  he  was  sure  that 
souls  were  as  precious  and  Bible  study  as  impor- 
tant in  January  as  in  July,  and  if  a  Sunday-school 
was  worth  having  at  one  time  it  was  worth  having 
at  all  times.  He  therefore  quickly  settled  on  this 
basis  of  permanent  action  :  So  long  as  one  teacher  HOW  many 

niiiken  Sun 

and  two  scholars  would  attend,  he  would  keep  up  day-school, 
the  school  without  a  peradventure.     When  the 
number  dropped  below  that,  he  would  reopen  the 
question   for  further   consideration.      From   this 


18 


A  Model  /Superintendent. 


SECTION  II. 

A  Country 
Sunday- 
school. 


A  changed 
neighbor- 
hood. 


A  steady 
light. 


decision  he  never  wavered.  Is  not  that  a  fair 
solution  of  the  vacation  question  for  any  Sunday- 
school  ? 

Summer  and  winter  Mr.  Haven  went  back  and 
forth  between  his  home  and  the  Sunday-school. 
The  school  grew  in  interest  if  not  largely  in  num- 
bers. It  gathered  in  well-nigh  all  who  could  be 
fairly  counted  of  its  proper  field.  Its  influence 
on  the  neighborhood  was  obvious  and  delightful. 
Children  were  made  glad,  and  were  well  taught  in 
the  school.  Parents  were  drawn  in  as  scholars,  or 
drawn  towards  the  teachers  who  did  so  much  for 
their  little  ones.  Homes  were  improved.  Oppo- 
nents of  the  school  were  turned  into  friends.  The 
district  gained  a  new  character  and  a  new  name. 
From  being  one  of  the  most  unpromising  it  be- 
came one  of  the  most  satisfactory  neighborhoods 
in  all  its  region  of  country.  It  was  after  a  while 

o  «/ 

as  well  known  for  the  sobriety,  uprightness,  and 
religious  standing  of  its  people  as  it  had  been  for 
the  evil  deeds  of  those  who  resorted  there.  That 
Sunday-school,  as  a  lamp  lighted  in  a  dark  place, 
gave  a  very  clear  and  steady  if  not  a  very  brilliant 
light.  It  cheered  the  hearts  of  those  on  whom  its 
rays  beamed  constantly,  even  though  it  did  not 
dazzle  the  eyes  of  a  multitude.  It  was  kept  al- 
ways burning,  always  well  trimmed. 

Occasional  preaching  was  provided,  together 
with  general  services  of  worship,  in  connection 


Extending  Labors. 


19 


with  the  Sunday-school.  An  inquiry  meeting  fol- 
lowing the  Sunday-school  was  frequently  held  in 
a  neighboring  farm-house  kitchen,  and  this  with 
excellent  results  in  bringing  scholars  to  the  point 
of  Christian  decision.  There  on  one  occasion  a 
young  woman  in  an  adjoining  room,  who  heard 
Mr.  Haven,  through  the  thin  partition,  pointing 
the  way  of  life  to  a  group  of  children,  and  plead- 
ing with  and  for  them  in  the  name  of  Christ,  was 

O  t 

so  touched  by  his  words  of  entreaty  that  she  yield- 
ed herself  to  the  Saviour  and  found  peace  in  be- 
lieving. Young  and  old  were  brought  into  the 
fold  of  Jesus  from  that  school,  professing  their 
faith  by  uniting  with  neighboring  churches  of  one 
denomination  or  another.  One  lad,  an  Irish  Ro- 
man Catholic,  who  was  at  work  as  a  farmer's  help- 
er in  the  vicinity,  was  led  to  trust  himself  to  the 
Saviour;  and  then,  prompted  and  helped  by  Mr. 
Haven,  he  studied  for  the  ministry,  and  became 
an  earnest  home  missionary  in  the  West. 

Thus  the  years  went  by.  Mr.  Haven's  business 
responsibilities  increased.  He  married,  and  had  a 
family  to  look  after.  He  was  called  to  varied  and 
engrossing  public  duties  by  his  town,  his  city,  and 
his  state.  Important  private  trusts  were  confided 
to  him.  He  was  chosen  superintendent  of  the 
Sunday-school  of  his  church  in  New  London.  He 
neglected  none  of  these  responsibilities ;  but  for 
none  of  them,  nor  for  all,  did  he  suspend  his  work 


SECTION  II. 
A  Country 
Sunday- 
school. 


Spiritual 
results. 


20 


A  Model  Superintendent. 


SECTION  II. 

A  Country 
Sunday- 
school. 


Persistency. 


Burned  out. 


at  his  "Gilead  Sunday-school"  in  Waterford.  In 
May,  1861,  the  writer  of  this  sketch  attended  the 
twenty-fifth  anniversary  of  that  school  and  listen- 
ed to  the  quarter-centennial  report  of  its  superin- 
tendent. Not  once  a  year  on  an  average  had  the 
school  intermitted  a  session,  including  an  occa- 
sional suspension  on  account  of  a  funeral  in  the 
vicinity.  On  1099  of  the  1279  sessions  of  the 
school  had  Mr.  Haven  himself  been  present,  not- 
withstanding his  varied  private  and  public  labors, 
which  rendered  his  occasional  absence  inevitable. 
Of  the  418  persons  who  had  up  to  that  time  been 
members  of  the  school,  more  than  100  had  united 
with  various  churches  elsewhere ;  while  four  who 
had  come  into  the  school  as  scholars  were  already 
in  the  gospel  ministry  or  were  preparing  for  it. 
Yet  the  entire  membership  of  the  school  had  aver- 
aged during  its  twenty-five  years  only  thirty-seven 
—twenty-nine  scholars  and  eight  teachers.  Soon 
after  that  anniversary  the  old  school-house  was  de- 
stroyed by  fire ;  but  another  and  better  one  was 
soon  built  in  its  place,  the  Sunday-school  mean- 
while meeting  weekly  in  a  private  house.  The 
fortieth  annual  report  of  the  school,  which  was 
in  preparation  when  Mr.  Haven  died,  showed  that 
in  all  648  persons  had  been  members  of  the 
school ;  that  of  the  2086  Sundays  in  the  forty 
years  of  its  existence,  school  sessions  had  been 
held  on  2055 ;  and  that  in  nearly  nine  years  no 


Improved  Methods. 


21 


session  had  been  intermitted  for  any  cause  what- 
ever. 

Improvements  in  his  methods  of  working  at 
this  school  were  adopted  by  Mr.  Haven  as  the 
years  went  by.  Certainly  as  early  as  1860,  he  had 
a  schedule  of  uniform  lessons  for  the  entire  year 
printed  and  distributed  in  advance.  A  carefully 
arranged  order  of  service,  with  responsive  and  al- 
ternate readings  and  united  recitations  for  every 
Sunday  in  the  year,  was  printed  annually.  A  mis- 
sionary association  in  connection  with  the  school 
was  organized  and  well  worked.  Monthly  "  Sun- 
day-school concerts"  for  general  exercises  of  wor- 
ship and  Bible  recitations,  with  addresses  to  the 
young,  were  conducted  with  variety  and  good 
judgment.  Special  exercises  for  Christmas  and 
Easter  were  annually  arranged.  Skilfully  direct- 
ed quarterly  reviews  came  to  be  a  feature  in  the 
school.  And  so  with  many  another  improvement. 
One  custom  of  the  school  which  indicated  its  per- 
manent character  was  this :  At  the  close  of  his 
first  year's  service  the  superintendent  gave  a  Bible 
as  a  token  of  regard  to  each  scholar  who  had  been 
in  the  school  from  its  beginning.  He  promised  a 
similar  gift  to  all  who  should  attend  for  the  next 
seven  years.  This  plan  of  seven-year  gifts  he 
pursued  to  the  last.  In  1872  at  least  one  person 
received  his  fifth  token  of  that  sort ;  and  four 
years  later,  when  the  school  had  passed  its  fortieth 


SECTION  II. 

A  Country 
Sunday- 
school. 


Progress. 


Sabbatical 
years. 


22 


A  Model  Superintendent. 


SECTION  II. 

A  Country 
Sunday- 
school. 


A  new  chap- 
el. 


A  dedica- 
tion service. 


anniversary,  he  was  still  a  member  of  the  school. 
That  system  of  rewards  was  certainly  as  prudent 
as  it  was  unique. 

It  was  in  Mr.  Haven's  mind  to  erect  a  commo- 
dious and  attractive  chapel  for  the  Waterford 
neighborhood,  where  he  had  labored  so  long  and 
effectively.  Only  the  day  before  his  death  he 
was  occupied  over  the  details  of  a  contract  for  its 
building.  His  purposes  were  subsequently  fully 
carried  out  by  his  family  in  conjunction  with  the 
people  for  whose  benefit  the  chapel  was  designed  ; 
for  it  was  ever  Mr.  Haven's  habit  to  stimulate 
others  to  beneficent  activity  rather  than  to  do  for 
them  in  such  a  way  as  to  lessen  their  sense  of 
responsibility  and  privilege.  The  son  of  one  of 
the  earliest  scholars  gave  the  land  for  the  chapel. 
The  people  of  the  vicinity  prepared  the  ground 
and  laid  the  stone-work  of  the  foundation.  The 
chapel  itself  was  erected  in  the  name  of  Mr.  Ha- 
ven by  his  family.  Its  furnishing  was  by  the  la- 
dies of  the  neighborhood.  The  bell  and  clock  and 
a  memorial  window  were  given  by  the  widow  of  a 
former  partner  of  Mr.  Haven — first  a  scholar  and 
then  a  teacher  in  the  Sunday-school  there.  A 
handsome  wall -tablet  in  memory  of  Mr.  Haven 
was  the  gift  of  the  Sunday-school. 

At  the  dedication  of  the  new  chapel,  September 
24, 1876,  the  order  of  service,  including  responsive 
readings  from  Scripture,  was,  in  the  main,  one 


A  Memorial  Chapel. 


23 


which  had  been  arranged  by  Mr.  Haven  for  a 
similar  service  in  a  new  building  not  long  before 
erected  for  his  New  London  school.  But  there 
was  an  impressive  addition  in  the  following  re- 
sponsive readings  from  Chronicles,  rendered  pe- 
culiarly appropriate  by  the  circumstances  of  the 
chapel  building: 

Superintendent.  Then  David  the  king  stood  up  upon  his  feet, 
and  said,  Hear  me,  my  brethren,  and  my  people :  As  for  me  I  had 
in  mine  heart  to  build  an  house  of  rest  for  the  ark  of  the  covenant 
of  the  Lord,  and  the  footstool  of  our  God,  and  had  made  ready  for 
the  building.  But  God  said  unto  me,  Thou  shalt  not  build  a  house 
for  my  name. 

School.  And  it  shall  come  to  pass  when  thy  days  are  expired 
that  thou  must  go  to  be  with  thy  fathers,  that  I  will  raise  up  thy 
seed  after  thee,  which  .  .  .  shall  build  me  an  house. 

Superintendent.  Now  therefore  in  the  sight  of  all  Israel,  the 
congregation  of  the  Lord,  and  in  the  audience  of  our  God,  keep 
and  seek  for  all  the  commandments  of  the  Lord  your  God:  that 
ye  may  possess  this  good  land,  and  leave  it  for  an  inheritance  for 
your  children  after  you  forever. 

And  now  that  beautiful  chapel  stands  on  the 
scene  of  the  forty  years'  faithful  labor  of  Mr.  Ha- 
ven, as  a  fitting  monument  to  his  memory.  Its 
suggestive  history  shows,  incidentally,  the  evan- 
gelizing and  edifying  power  of  a  neighborhood 
Sunday-school  —  an  undenominational  gathering 
for  Bible  study  and  worship  —  as  a  centre  of  re- 
ligious influence  and  activities  for  an  entire  com- 

O 

munity,  throughout  at  least  the  period  of  a  full 
generation.  And  it  well  illustrates  what  can  be 


SECTION  II. 

A  Country 

Snndny- 

schoof. 


A  flttine 

monument. 


24 


A  Model  Superintendent. 


SECTION  II. 

A  Country 
Sunday- 
school. 


Patient  con- 
tinuance. 


done  in  a  country  Sunday-school,  and  through  a 
country  Sunday-school,  by  the  persevering  endeav- 
ors of  one  man  in  a  quiet  and  undemonstrative 
way.  Mr.  Haven  remarked  at  one  time,  that  not 
until  after  that  little  school  had  been  more  than 
twenty  years  in  existence  did  it  ever  occur  to  him 
that  his  work  in  it  was  in  any  degree  remarkable ; 
and  then  only  because  of  the  repeated  comments 
on  it  which  were  made  by  one  who  was  familiar 
with  all  of  the  Sunday-schools  in  the  state.  He 
added,  modestly,  that  the  most  that  could  be  said 
for  it,  after  all,  was  that  it.  showed  "  patient  con- 
tinuance in  well-doing."  More  impartial  observ- 
ers than  he  will  say  that  it  showed  a  great  deal 
more  than  that ;  but  if  that,  indeed,  were  all,  it 
should  be  remembered  that  "  to  them  who,  by  pa- 
tient continuance  in  well-doing,  seek  for  glory  and 
honor  and  immortality"  God  will  render  "eternal 
life."  God  is  faithful  that  promised. 


A  New  Charge. 


25 


III. 
A   CITY  SUNDAY- SCHOOL. 

Exercises  of  Worship ;  Plans  for  Punctuality;  Cultivation  of  Benefi- 
cence ;  Modes  of  Bible  Study ;  Ways  of  Winning  Souls ;  Out- 
side Evangelism. 

AFTER  Mr.  Haven  had  been  more  than  twenty 
years  in  charge  of  the  neighborhood  Sunday-school 
at  "Waterford,  he  was  urged  to  become  superintend- 
ent of  the  Sunday-school  of  the  Second  Congrega- 
tional Church  (the  church  of  which  he  was  a  mem- 
ber) in  New  London.  This  he  consented  to  do 
without  abandoning  the  other  school  —  the  city 
school  holding  its  session  in  the  morning,  and  the 
country  school  in  the  afternoon. 

Mr.  Haven  entered  upon  his  new  duties  in  Jan- 
uary, 1858.  His  experience  in  the  country  Sun- 
day-school was  of  important  service  to  him  in  his 
city  field.  The  various  methods  of  work  which 
he  had  originated  or  adopted  for  the  smaller  school 
were  easily  adapted  to  the  requirements  of  the 
larger  one.  Yery  soon  his  city  Sunday-school  was 
as  good  a  model  in  one  sphere  as  his  country  Sun- 
day-school had  long  been  in  another.  The  same 
system  and  thoroughness  prevailed  here  as  there. 


SECTION  ITT. 
A  City  Sun- 
day-school. 


A  new 
charge. 


A  new 
model. 


26 


A  Model  Superintendent. 


SECTION  III. 
A  City  Sun- 
day-school. 


Worship 
aiid  study. 


Records  and 
printing. 


Supple- 
mental 
gatherings. 


And  he  was  as  devoted  and  as  persistent  in  this 
work  as  in  that. 

The  New  London  school  met  at  9.15  in  the 
morning,  an  hour  and  a  quarter  before  the  fore- 
noon church  service.  Worship  was  an  important 
element  in  its  exercises.  All  had  a  part  in  its  re- 
sponsive readings.  A  uniform  lesson  was  studied 
by  all  the  classes.  There  were  three  departments 
in  the  school — the  primary  or  the  infant  class,  the 
intermediate  or  the  main  school,  and  the  senior  or 
the  Bible  classes.  During  the  opening  and  closing 
exercises  these  departments  were  all  within  sight 
and  hearing  of  the  superintendent,  but  during  the 
lesson-hour  they  were  separated.  Systematic  Chris- 
tian giving  was  a  part  of  the  school  training.  A 
teachers'  meeting  on  a  week-day  evening  for  the 
study  of  the  lesson  was  deemed  essential  to  the 
school's  efficiency.  Close  attention  to  records  and 
statistics  was  a  part  of  the  plan  by  which  the 
school  was  enabled  to  hold  its  own  and  to  make 
steady  progress.  The  printing-press  was  counted 
an  important  aid  in  the  school  work.  Orders  of 
service,  certificates  of  various  kinds,  blanks  for 
the  teachers'  use  and  for  the  library,  cards  of  no- 
tification for  sending  out  by  the  superintendent, 
plans  of  special  exercises,  reports,  and  other  print- 
ed matter,  were  freely  and  wisely  used.  There 
were  monthly  Sunday-school  concerts,  periodical 
missionary  meetings,  Christmas  and  Easter  ser- 


A  Plan  of  Exercises. 


27 


vices,  week-day  evening  gatherings  for  practice  in 
singing,  midsummer  and  midwinter  social  assem- 
blings of  one  sort  or  another,  and  various  other 
occasional  services  and  gatherings  in  conjunction 
with  the  school  work. 

The  plan  of  exercises  adopted  soon  after  the 
New  London  school  was  fairly  in  Mr.  Haven's 
hands  was  as  follows:  Half  an  hour  or  so  before 
the  school  session  the  superintendent  was  at  the 
schoolroom.  The  singing  leader  was  also  there. 
So,  ordinarily,  was  the  pastor.  If  no  one  else  was 
present,  these  three  would  begin  the  singing  of  a 
familiar  hymn.  Teachers  and  scholars  as  they 
came  in  would  join  in  the  singing.  Hymn  after 
hymn  would  be  sung  in  this  way  until  the  time 
for  the  school  opening.  By  this  means  restless- 
ness and  frivolous  conversation  during  the  time 
of  assembling  were  obviated,  unity  of  thought 
and  feeling  was  gained,  a  cheerful  and  reverent 
spirit  was  promoted,  and  the  attractiveness  of  the 
room  was  increased  to  those  who  were  early  in  at- 
tendance. At  precisely  fifteen  minutes  past  nine 
the  superintendent  tapped  his  bell  for  attention. 
Having  waited  until  there  was  perfect  silence,  he 
began  the  exercises  by  reading  distinctly  three 
texts  of  Scripture — the  verse  for  the  day  in  each 
of  the  three  collections  of  daily  texts  used  in  the 
different  departments  of  the  school.  (This,  it  will 
be  remembered,  was  before  the  days  of  the  Inter- 


SKOTION  IIL 
A  City  Sun- 
day-school. 


Getting  a 

start. 


Opening 
exercises. 


28 


A  Model  Superintendent. 


SECTION  III 
A  City  Sun- 
day-school. 


Closing  ex- 
ercises. 


national  lessons.)  The  entire  school  read  unitedly, 
under  his  lead,  brief  selections  of  Scripture  from 
printed  slips.  A  chant  followed ;  then  a  hymn 
of  worship.  Brief  prayer  was  offered  by  the  su- 
perintendent, or  by  a  teacher  previously  notified 
of  his  designation,  closing  with  the  Lord's  Prayer, 
in  which  all  joined  audibly.  A  psalm  was  read  re- 
sponsively  by  the  superintendent  and  the  school. 
Then  came  the  school  announcements  for  the 
day.  Changes  in  the  classes  were  mentioned. 
The  names  were  given  of  new  teachers  and  schol- 
ars, and  of  those  who  had  left  the  school.  All 
classes  which  had  been  present  in  full  member- 
ship the  Sunday  previous  were  named.  Notifica- 
tion was  made  of  special  meetings  in  which  the 
school  had  an  interest.  These  opening  exercises 
occupied  not  more  than  fifteen  minutes  in  all. 
Three  quarters  of  an  hour  of  uninterrupted  Bible 
teaching  followed.  Then,  at  a  tap  of  the  superin- 
tendent's bell,  the  school  once  more  gave  atten- 
tion to  the  desk.  A  few  well-considered  com- 
ments on  the  lesson  of  the  day,  enforcing  one  of 
its  main  points,  or  a  few  carefully  arranged  ques- 
tions from  the  superintendent,  closed  the  teaching 
exercise.  The  day's  attendance  in  the  various  de- 
partments of  the  school  was  announced.  A  hymn 
was  sung.  The  school  was  closed  in  season  for 
the  morning  service  in  the  church  above  the 

o 

schoolroom.     The   entire   school   session  was  an 


Training  to  Punctuality. 


29 


hour  and  a  quarter  long.  The  Scripture  selec- 
tions read  in  unison,  those  chanted,  and  those  read 
responsively  were  the  same  for  six  months  con- 
secutively. Then  a  new  arrangement  was  made. 
By  these  repeated  readings  of  the  same  verses  for 
so  long  a  time  the  school  was  almost  insensibly 
gaining  in  the  treasure  of  well-memorized  Bible- 
words.  And  it  was  a  custom  to  recite  the  verses 
without  the  use  of  the  printed  slips  on  the  Sun- 
day before  one  set  of  selections  was  displaced  by 
a  new  one.  Special  providences  affecting  the  in- 
terests of  the  school  or  of  its  members  were  some- 
times recognized  by  added  readings  or  recitations 
of  Scripture  in  the  opening  school  service.  For 
example,  after  the  school  was  deprived  of  its 
home  by  the  burning  of  its  church  edifice  in 
March,  1868,  and  was  meeting  week  by  week  in 
rooms  generously  tendered  for  the  time  being  by 
the  church  of  another  denomination,  there  was  for 
several  months  a  recitation,  in  the  opening  service 
each  Sunday  morning,  of  the  appropriate  words, 
from  Isaiah  Ixiv,  11,  "  Our  holy  and  our  beautiful 
house,  where  our  fathers  praised  thee,  is  burned 
up  with  fire,  and  all  our  pleasant  things  are  laid 
waste." 

Punctuality  was  made  prominent  by  Mr.  Haven 
as  a  duty  of  those  who  belonged  to  his  Sunday- 
school.  He  had  little  hope  of  securing  a  good 
school  without  the  faithful  attendance  of  its 


SECTION  III. 
A  City  Hun- 
day-cchool. 


Scripture 
readiugs. 


30 


A  Model  Superintendent. 


SECTION  III. 
A  City  Sun- 
day-school. 


A  backward 
boy. 


members.  In  this  particular,  as  in  every  other, 
he  sought  to  cultivate  assiduously  the  habit  de- 
sired. He  did  not  depend  on  his  exhortations  to 
punctuality.  He  trained  both  teachers  and  schol- 
ars to  a  sense  of  its  importance  and  desirableness. 
A  close  record  of  the  attendance  of  each  member 
of  the  school  was  preserved,  and  its  leading  facts 
were  statedly  made  public.  Lists  of  those  who 
had  been  present  every  Sunday,  and,  again,  of 
those  present  at  least  forty  Sundays  in  the  year, 
were  printed  annually;  and  persons  who  deserved 
special  mention  for  their  fidelity  in  attendance 
were  sure  to  receive  it,  year  by  year.  A  class 
feeling  on  the  subject  was  fostered  by  the  men- 
tion, each  Sunday  morning  from  the  desk,  of 
those  classes  which  had  been  present  in  entirety 
the  week  before.  So  strong  did  this  class  sense 
of  responsibility  become  in  the  school  that  on  at 
least  one  occasion  four  of  the  boys  in  a  class  took 
their  fifth  classmate  in  hand  for  his  frequent  non- 
attendance.  They  said  to  him,  "  The  others  of 
us  are  always  here.  You  stay  away  so  often  that 
you  keep  our  class  record  down  below  the  aver- 
age. Now  you've  got  to  do  one  of  two  things — 
either  come  regularly  to  Sunday-school  or  quit 
this  class.  We  shall  be  glad  to  have  you  stay  with 
us ;  but  we  can't  have  you  keep  us  back,  if  you 
\vill  be  always  behind."  No  rewards  were  offered 
for  punctuality;  but  the  prominence  given  to  well- 


Attendance  by  Letter. 


31 


doing  in  this  line  proved  the  highest  stimulus  to 
all.  One  Sunday  morning  a  letter  came  to  the 
superintendent  from  a  boy  twelve  years  old,  say- 
ing that  he  had  never  missed  a  Sunday's  attend- 
ance since  he  joined  the  school,  but  now  he  must 
stay  at  home,  for  he  was  threatened  with  scarlet 
fever.  He  was  sorry  for  his  detention,  and  he 
wanted  his  superintendent  to  know  its  reason. 
Mr.  Haven  brought  this  letter  before  the  school, 
and,  in  commending  its  spirit,  announced  that 
thenceforward  a  letter  from  a  scholar  giving  a 
good  reason  for  his  absence  should  be  accepted 
as  his  representative,  and  the  scholar  should  be 
counted  present  by  letter,  his  name  being  marked 
L  on  the  school  records.  Summer  and  winter  to- 
gether that  school  came  to  average  in  attendance 
nearly  eighty  per  cent,  of  its  aggregate  member- 
ship, and  in  favorable  weather  nearly  ninety  per 
cent,  of  all  on  its  rolls  would  be  present.  This  was 
no  spurt  of  enthusiasm  for  a  brief  season  ;  it  con- 
tinued for  years  together.  Before  Mr.  Haven's 
death,  three  scholars  were  named  as  present  every 
Sunday  for  more  than  ten  years,  two  scholars  for 
more  than  seven  years,  one  for  more  than  six 
years,  five  for  more  than  four  years,  and  three 
for  more  than  two  years.  More  than  one  tenth 
of  the  school  members  were  among  those  present 
every  Sunday  in  the  year,  and  more  than  half 
were  of  those  present  at  least  forty  Sundays  out 


SECTION  IIL 
A  City  Sun- 
day-school. 


Taking  ex- 
cuses. 


A  high  av- 
erage. 


A  Model  Superintendent. 


SECTION  III. 
A  City  Sun- 
day-school. 


Training  to 
beneficence. 


of  the  fifty-two.  It  need  hardly  be  said  that  the 
idea  of  a  summer  or  a  winter  vacation  in  that 
Sunday-school  was  not  so  much  as  named  while 
Mr.  Haven  wras  its  superintendent.  There  was 
patient  continuance  in  well-doing  there  as  well  as 
at  Waterford. 

Beneficence  was  also  cultivated  carefully  by  Mr. 
Haven.  A  "Henry  Martyn  Missionary  Associa- 
tion "  was  formed,  with  an  organization  distinct 
from  the  school,  yet  including  the  same  member- 
ship. "Weekly  contributions  to  the  funds  of  this 
association  were  made  by  the  classes  severally. 
It  had  its  regular  quarterly  meetings,  with  reports 
of  receipts  and  charities.  A  missionary  of  the 
American  Sunday-school  Union  in  the  West  re- 
ceived a  portion  of  his  support  from  its  funds, 
and  corresponded  regularly  with  its  members. 
Occasional  special  offerings  were  also  made  to 
various  objects  of  benevolence  in  the  home  and 
foreign  field.  By-and-by  there  came  a  new  call 
for  giving.  The  church  building  was  destroyed 
by  fire.  A  new  house  of  worship  must  be  built, 
and  all  needed  to  bear  a  part  in  the  work.  Mr. 
Haven  promptly  secured  the  organization,  in  the 
school,  of  a  "Building  Aid  Cent  Society."  Its 
members  were  in  four  classes  of  givers.  The  first 
class  were  to  pay  one  cent  a  month,  the  second 
class  one  cent  a  week,  the  third  class  one  cent  a 
day,  and  the  fourth  class  two  cents  a  day.  No 


Giving  better  than  Iteceiviny. 


33 


member  was  allowed  to  give  more  than  the  last- 
named  sum.  Certificates  of  membership  were  is- 
sued to  the  donors,  and  the  collections  were  taken 
up  in  the  school,  Sunday  by  Sunday.  About  two 
hundred  and  sixty  persons  entered  into  this  plan, 
and  the  aggregate  of  their  donations  for  the  year 
of  its  trial  was  upwards  of  twelve  hundred  dollars. 
This  giving  did  not  meanwhile  interfere  with  the 
contributions  to  the  funds  of  the  Henry  Martyn 
Missionary  Association.  A  little  later  yet  another 
plan  of  giving  was  initiated.  In  December,  1869, 
after  the  work  of  the  Building  Aid  Cent  Society 
was  completed,  Mr.  Haven  proposed  that  the  teach- 
ers and  scholars  should,  instead  of  receiving  gifts 
on  Christmas,  "  remember  the  words  of  the  Lord 
Jesus,  how  he  said, '  It  is  more  blessed  to  give  than 
to  receive,'  "  and  make  an  offering  for  the  furnish- 
ing of  the  new  rooms  then  preparing  for  them. 
The  proposition  met  with  favor,  and  from  that 
time  forward  a  Christmas  service  of  worship,  with 
a  Christinas  offering  to  some  deserving  cause,  was 
a  feature  in  the  annual  school  plans.  After  a 
time,  Mr.  Haven  came  ta  feel  that  systematic  and 
consecrated  giving  was  better  than  giving  under 
any  pressure  of  special  appeal  or  of  peculiar  at- 
tractiveness in  the  object  of  charity ;  so  he  intro- 
duced the  "  envelope  system  "  of  giving.  Weekly 
class  offerings  were  made,  in  envelopes,  to  a  com- 
mon charitv  fund,  with  the  understanding  that  all 

•/  c/ 


SUCTION  III. 
A  City  Sun- 
day-school. 


Christmas 
giving. 


34: 


A  Model  Superintendent. 


SECTION  III. 
A  City  Sun- 
day-school. 


Training  in 
Bible  study. 


the  money  received  was  to  be  applied  to  outside 
Christian  beneficences — none  of  it  to  be  used  for 
school  expenses.  It  was  soon  found  that  there 
was  a  gain  by  this  plan,  both  in  the  aggregate  of 
receipts  and  in  the  relative  number  of  regular 
givers,  over  that  formerly  in  vogue  in  the  school. 
So  there  was  progress  in  the  matter  of  consecrated 
giving  as  well  as  in  punctual  attendance. 

But  no  attention  to  formal  worship,  to  punctu- 
ality, and  to  beneficence,  no  effort  at  training  the 
young  in  that  school  to  be  always  present,  to  join 
in  responsive  exercises,  and  to  give  as  God  pros- 
pered them,  took  precedence  of  the  first  and  great- 
est work  of  the  school.  That  was  a  Bible-school, 
gathered  for  the  systematic  and  reverent  study  of 
God's  word,  to  the  end  that  those  who  had  a  part 
in  it  might  grow  in  the  knowledge  of  that  word 
and  in  the  love  and  likeness  of  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ.  The  Bible  was  the  text -book  of  the 
school.  Its  study  there  was  systematic  and  thor- 
ough, promoted  by  examinations  and  reviews  in 
both  class  and  desk.  The  spirit  of  worship  per- 
vaded all  the  exercises.  And  no  effort  was  spared 
to  impress  each  scholar  with  a  sense  of  his  indi- 
vidual responsibility  to  God  and  to  win  him  to  the 
step  of  personal  Christian  decision.  Nor  was  he 
neglected  when  fairly  in  the  church  fold.  The 
words  of  the  superintendent  at  the  close  of  the 
school  hour  gave  emphasis  to  the  spiritual  teach- 


Work  for  Individuals. 


35 


ing  of  the  lesson  for  the  day,  or  pressed  home 
some  pungent  thought  suggested  by  the  deatli  of 
a  scholar  or  teacher,  or  other  special  providence 
which  had  prominence  for  the  time  in  the  minds 
of  those  present.  The  teachers  were  counselled  to 
converse  with  their  scholars  individually,  at  their 
homes  or  elsewhere,  on  the  subject  of  personal  re- 
ligion. On  particular  occasions  the  teachers  were 
addressed  by  the  superintendent  through  a  circu- 
lar letter  urging  attention  to  this  duty  and  giving 
hints  as  to  the  methods  of  its  performance.  Sun- 
day-school prayer- meetings  on  a  week-day  even- 
ing were  at  times  held  for  months  together ;  and, 
again,  there  were  inquiry-meetings  at  the  superin- 
tendent's house  for  those  whose  interest  in  per- 
sonal religion  had  been  awakened.  And  there 
were  classes  of  inquirers  and  young  converts 
banded  together  for  mutual  prayer  and  conversa- 
tion. Tracts  and  other  religious  reading  were 
often  judiciously  distributed  in  the  school.  Mr. 
Haven  himself,  with  all  the  pressure  of  his  varied 
duties,  took  time  to  teach  a  class  in  each  of  the 
schools  which  he  superintended ;  and  he  was  as 
faithful  and  zealous  in  his  care  for  the  individual 
souls  thus  in  his  personal  charge  as  if  he  lived  for 
nothing  else.  When  asked  on  one  occasion  how 
he  managed,  with  all  his  other  work,  to  meet  his 
scholars  on  a  week-day  for  religious  conversation, 
as  he  had  mentioned  doing,  he  explained  his  meth- 


SEOTION  III. 
A  City  Sun- 
day-school. 


Working 
>for  souls. 


An  early 
call. 


36 


A  Model  Superintendent. 


SKOTION  III. 
A  City  Sun- 
day-school. 


Training  to 
church  at- 
teudaune. 


od  in  this  way:  "Well,  it  wasn't  an  easy  matter. 
I  told  them,  to  start  with,  that  my  only  time  for 
seeing  them  was  before  six  in  the  morning,  for 
every  hour  after  that  was  fully  engaged  until  ten 
in  the  evening.  But  I  thought  that,  if  they  looked 
at  this  thing  aright,  they'd  be  willing  to  get  up 
extra  early  for  one  morning  to  fairly  consider  it ; 
and  I  wasn't  mistaken.  They  came  to  my  house 
by  appointment  soon  after  five.  We  had  a  de- 
lightful hour  together."  With  such  work  as  this 
doing  by  superintendent  and  teachers,  it  was  clear 
that  no  attention  to  machinery  and  methods  in 
the  running  of  this  school  hindered  the  highest 
devotion  to  the  spiritual  welfare  of  its  members. 

This  school  was  a  church  school,  and  as  such  it 
was  as  carefully  run  in  conjunction  with  the  other 
departments  of  the  church  work  of  which  it  wras 
a  part  as  the  Waterford  school  was  run  indepen- 
dently. Its  regular  sessions  immediately  preceded 
the  forenoon  church  service,  and  a  large  majority 
of  those  present  went  directly  from  the  school- 
room to  the  sanctuary.  The  duty  of  faithful 
church  attendance  was  frequently  enjoined  by 
the  superintendent,  and  he  asked  reports  from 
his  teachers  of  the  number  of  their  scholars  who 
were  regularly  in  this  habit.  For  years  the  pas- 
tor of  the  church  —  the  Rev.  Dr.  George  B.  Will- 
cox —  was  accustomed  to  attend  the  school  ses- 
sions ;  also  to  preach  to  the  school  on  one  Sunday 


Influence  of  an  Example. 


37 


evening  of  each  month.  Once  a  month,  also,  the 
Sunday-school  concert,  with  its  general  exercises 
of  worship,  its  topical  recitation  of  Bible  texts, 
and  its  addresses  to  the  young,  occupied  a  Sunday 
evening.  On  the  other  Sunday  evenings  of  the 
month  the  members  of  the  school  would  gather  at 
the  church  before  the  regular  service  to  sing  Sun- 
day-school hymns  under  an  efficient  and  enthusi- 
astic leader.  The  church  made  ample  provision 
for  the  school,  and  counted  it  an  important  por- 
tion of  its  charge.  The  school,  on  the  other  hand, 
was  a  constant  feeder  to  the  church,  increasing  its 
congregation  and  gradually  swelling  its  member- 
ship. 

The  influence  of  such  a  school  as  this  could 
hardly  fail  of  extending  itself  for  good  far  beyond 
its  immediate  bounds.  It  was  an  illustration  of 
the  value  of  system  and  thoroughness.  Its  meth- 
ods commanded  attention  and  were  imitated  in 
other  schools.  They  were  reported  in  Sunday- 
school  periodicals  and  at  conventions  and  insti- 
tutes. Its  opening  and  closing  exercises  were 
copied  far  and  near.  It  is,  indeed,  not  too  much 
to  say  that  these  did  a  great  deal  towards  giving 
larger  prominence  to  the  element  of  wrorship  in 
the  Sunday-school  and  in  shaping  the  general 
character  of  the  exercises  of  the  superintendent's 
desk  throughout  the  United  States.  And  other 
schools — mission  schools  in  the  city,  or  neighbor- 


SKOTION  III. 

ACitySnii- 
day-Hch«K)l. 


Power  of  a 
good  exam- 
ple. 


38 


A  Model  Superintendent. 


SECTION  III. 
A  City  Sun- 
day-school. 


A  banian 
growth. 


hood  schools  in  the  country — were  superintended 
by  those  who  studied  and  taught  in  Mr.  Haven's 
Sunday-school.  At  one  time  four  members  of 
his  school  were  thus  superintending  other  Sun- 
day-schools at  different  hours  of  the  day;  while 
scores  of  those  who  had  been  members  were 
preaching  the  gospel  or  were  superintending  and 
teaching  in  the  Sunday-school  elsewhere.  If  Mr. 
Haven  had  never  done  anything  more  for  the 
cause  of  Christ  than  he  accomplished  in  and 
through  that  church  Sunday  -  school,  he  would 
have  left  a  glorious  record  of  Christian  service; 
but  that  was  only  a  single  item  in  his  varied  and 
fruitful  labors  for  the  honor  of  his  Master  and 
the  welfare  of  his  fellows. 


Using  Patterns  Wisely. 


39 


IY. 

METHODS  AND  HELPS: 

In  the  Study ;  with  the  Teachers ;  in  the  Desk ;  with  the  Scholars ; 
among  the  Records ;  at  Special  Services. 

WHEN  a  man  has  been  successful  for  a  series 
of  years  in  a  given  line  of  service,  there  is  always 
something  to  be  learned  from  his  peculiar  meth- 
ods of  work ;  for  there  is  no  such  thing  as  a  per- 
manent success  without  a  reason  for  it.  Men  do 
not  stumble  into  the  right  way  of  overcoming  ob- 
stacles ;  nor  do  they  build  up  an  abiding  structure 
without  a  wise  plan.  He  who  has  made  large  at- 
tainment and  steady  progress  in  any  department 
of  life  has  done  so  through  the  judicious  use  of 
well-chosen  instrumentalities.  What  he  did,  and 
how  he  did  it ;  what  things  he  used,  and  how  he 
used  them — are  points  worth  considering  by  those 
who  would  achieve  like  results  in  a  similar  field. 
Yet,  with  all  this,  every  man  must  finally  be  him- 
self, and  do  his  own  work  in  his  own  way,  if  he 
would  have  success.  No  other  man's  methods 
ought  to  bind  him  in  his  work.  The  advantage 
to  be  gained  from  a  study  of  the  methods  and 
helps  of  another  is  *in  considering  their  sugges- 


SECTION  IV. 
Methods 
.•aid  Helps. 


Beina;  cue's 
self. 


A  Model  Superintendent. 


SKOTIOS  IV, 
Methods 
and  Helps. 


Always  on 
the  watch. 


Making 
ready  to 


do. 


tions,  not  in  following  them  blindly.  Mr.  Haven 
was  an  exceptionally  intelligent  pioneer  in  ways 
of  working  as  a  Sunday-school  superintendent. 
Moreover,  to  the  last  he  was  constantly  on  the 
watch  in  every  direction  for  new  plans  and  bet- 
ter agencies  disclosed  in  the  experience  of  others. 
Hence,  even  though  he  ought  not  to  be  accepted 
as  a  sure  guide,  there  is  much  to  be  learned  from 
the  methods  he  pursued  and  the  helps  he  adopt- 
ed in  the  varied  Sunday-school  labors  of  his  city 
and  country  fields. 

IN   THE    STUDY. 

Mr.  Haven's  first  care  was  to  prepare  himself 
thoroughly  for  whatever  he  had  to  do.  This 
preparation  included  the  deciding  what  was  to 
be  done  and  the  learning  how  to  do  it.  All  this 
was  attended  to  before  the  time  came  for  speech 
or  action.  He  never  went  to  his  Sunday-school 
without  knowing  before  he  left  home  just  what 
he  was  to  do  at  every  step  in  the  school  exercises. 
He  knewr  what  hymns  were  to  be  given  out,  what 
Bible  selections  were  to  be  read,  who  was  to  of- 
fer prayer,  what  announcements  were  to  be  made, 
what  he  was  to  say  to  the  school,  and  how  long 
he  was  to  be  in  saying  it.  He  never  stood  in  his 
desk  waiting  for  one  minute  to  think  what  should 
be  done  or  said  next ;  that  had  been  settled  be- 
forehand. Commonly  a  memorandum  was  made 


Beginning  at  the  Bottom. 


of  all  these  points.  At  his  home  he  noted  on  a 
slip  of  paper  the  order  of  exercises  for  the  coin- 
ing Sunday.  Even  when  he  used  a  printed  form 
of  service,  he  noted  separately  the  hymns  and  spe- 
cial readings,  the  notices,  the  person  who  was  to 
pray,  and  the  outline  of  his  brief  address,  or  the 
order  of  his  examining  questions,  for  the  day.  To 
all  of  these  things  he  gave  careful  and  prayerful 
thought.  Whatever  of  success  he  had  in  this  line 
of  service  was  the  result  of  downright  study  with 
a  consecrated  purpose.  What  superintendent  ever 
won  success  in  any  other  way? 

It  is  to  be  remembered  that  Mr.  Haven  began 
his  Sunday-school  work  without  an  education, 
without  books,  without  money,  and  without  lei- 
sure. He  had,  at  the  start,  no  well-supplied  libra- 
ry, no  acquaintance  with  the  contents  of  books,  no 
time  to  devote  to  study  if  books  were  available, 
and  no  means  for  the  purchase  of  books.  His 
early  circumstances  were  no  more  favorable  to 
success  than  those  of  the  humblest  young  man 
who  reads  this  story  of  his  well-doing  and  wishes 
he  could  do  as  admirably.  But  Mr.  Haven  ob- 
tained first  a  Bible  and  a  hymn-book,  and  until 
he  secured  other  helps  to  study  he  made  excellent 
use  of  these.  He  would  take  time  when  work 
pressed  hardest — .take  it  from  eating  or  sleeping 
if  necessary — to  study  his  next  Sunday's  lesson. 
Unless  he  knew  that  lesson  well  enough  to  teach 


SECTION  IV. 
Methods 
and  Helps. 


Having  a 
plau. 


An  humble 
stun. 


A  Model  /Superintendent. 


SECTION  IV, 
Methods 
and  Helps. 


A  growing 
library. 


it,  he  did  not  consider  himself  ready  to  lead  the 
teachers  in  its  study,  nor  yet  to  lead  the  school  in 
timely  opening  and  closing  exercises  while  it  was 
under  consideration  there.  Lesson-study  with  his 
limited  advantages  and  the  few  helps  at  his  dis- 
posal was  no  slight  undertaking ;  but  he  was  pray- 
erful and  persistent  in  it,  and  of  course  he  was 
successful.  This  method  always  brings  success  in 
Bible  study. 

As  he  gained  in  means,  Mr.  Haven  added  to  his 
stock  of  books,  and  all  the  books  which  he  pur- 
chased he  made  intelligent  use  of.  Gradually  he 
accumulated  a  well  -  selected  library.  The  more 
he  learned,  the  more  he  wanted  to  learn.  His 
growing  experience  helped  him  to  better  methods 
of  study,  not  to  getting  on  without  study.  Each 
year  found  him  giving  more  time,  week  by  week, 
to  preliminary  work  for  his  Sunday  duties.  Lat- 
terly he  was  a  careful  reader  of  the  best  of  the 
multiplied  helps  to  the  study  of  the  International 
lessons,  yet  without  neglecting  the  fresh  study  of 
the  Bible.  His  opening  and  closing  exercises  ; 
his  special  plans  for  review  Sundays,  for  monthly 
concerts,  for  school  anniversaries,  and  for  Christ- 
mas and  Easter  services  to  the  latest  year  of  his 
life — cost  him  quite  as  much  labor  as  anything  of 
the  sort  in  the  earlier  days  of  his  school  work. 
Forty  years  of  experience  made  him  value  only 
the  more  highly  his  work  at  home  over  what  he 


Sharpening  the  Tools. 


43 


was  to  do  in  the  schoolroom.  It  in  no  degree 
lessened  his  dependence  on  careful  preliminary 
study.  If  more  superintendents  would  give  as 
much  time  to  close  and  prayerful  preparation  for 
their  Sunday-school  duties  as  Mr.  Haven  averaged 
during  all  the  long  years  of  his  faithful  service, 
such  success  as  crowned  his  labors  would  not  be 
so  rare.  The  trouble  is  that,  as  a  rule,  the  less 
genius  a  man  has,  the  less  he  is  willing  to  work. 
The  man  of  inferior  talent  commonly  wants  to 
get  on  as  well  as  the  superior  one  without  giving 
as  much  time  to  it.  Mr.  Haven  did  have  a  cer- 
tain amount  of  genius ;  therefore  he  worked  hard 
to  make  himself  ready  for  whatever  he  had  to  do. 
He  was  methodical  to  the  last  degree  in  study, 
as  in  everything  else.  Every  book  or  paper  in  his 
library  had  its  well-known  place  —  a  place  where 
it  would  be  most  available  for  convenient  use  in 
the  snatches  of  time  he  could  give  to  study.  If  a 
book  of  reference  lacked  an  index,  he  would  care- 
fully compile  one  in  manuscript,  or  have  it  com- 
piled for  him.  Not  being  satisfied  with  any  of  the 
existing  collections  of  hymns  for  Sunday-schools, 
he  arranged  one  to  his  own  liking  with  a  great 
deal  of  study,  and  had  it  printed  for  private  circu- 
lation. He  would  select  one  hymn  for  each  Sun- 
day, as  appropriate  to  the  lesson,  for  three  months, 
in  advance ;  and  print  a  list  of  these  on  cards  to 
hand  to  teachers  and  scholars,  that  all  might  com- 


SEOTION  IV. 
Methods 
and  Helps. 


Gen  ins 
mean  a  work 


Everything 
iu  its  place. 


44: 


A  Model  Superintendent. 


Finding 
time. 


*h°se  hjmns  to  memory — one  each  week.  On 
and  Helps.  Specjai  occasions,  such  as  the  death  of  a  scholar  or 
teacher,  or  the  entering  of  a  new  schoolroom,  he 
would  compose  an  appropriate  hymn,  or  secure 
the  composing  of  one.  All  this  took  time.  Of 
course  it  did.  But  Mr.  Haven  always  found  time 
for  whatever  he  felt  must  be  done.  Every  man 
does  this. 

WITH   THE   TEACHERS. 

No  man  can  carry  on  a  Sunday-school  all  by 
himself.  Nor  can  a  Sunday-school  be  carried  on 
with  one  spirit  and  one  plan  unless  all  who  have 
a  part  in  its  direction  are  agreed  as  to  the  work 
to  be  done,  and  as  to  the  proper  way  of  doing  it. 
A  superintendent  must  count  much  on  the  help 
of  his  teachers ;  and  he  must  have  his  •  teachers 
often  together  for  mutual  counsel  and  study,  if 
he  would  have  his  school  a  unit  and  effective  for 
its  best  service.  Mr.  Haven  understood  this.  He 
knew  that  a  good  Sunday-school  without  a  weekly 
teachers'  meeting  was  not  a  possibility.  He  never 
attempted  anything  of  the  sort  in  all  his  forty 
years*  experience. 

In  his  country  Sunday-school,  where  the  widely 
scattered  teachers  could  not  well  be  brought  to- 
gether on  a  week-day  evening,  Mr.  Haven  held 
his  teachers'  meeting  at  the  close  of  the  ordinary 
Sunday-school  session  ;  and  at  that  time  the  next 
Sunday's  lesson  was  taken  up  for  preliminary  ex- 


The  tench- 
ers'  meeting 


Tact  with  the  Teacher*. 


45 


animation.  In  his  city  school,  the  teachers'  meet- 
ing was  at  his  house  on  Saturday  evening.  No 
pains  on  his  part  were  lacking  to  make  it  a  suc- 
cess. It  was  not  a  teachers'  class  taught  by  the 
superintendent.  It  was  a  gathering  of  teachers 
led  by  the  superintendent  in  a  mutual  examina- 
tion of  the  lesson,  and  in  consultation  over  meth- 
ods of  its  teaching.  It  was  largely  conducted  by 
questions  on  the  superintendent's  part — answered 
freely  by  the  teachers,  who  sometimes  were,  and 
sometimes  were  not,  called  on  by  name.  The  ef- 
fort wras  to  bring  the  teachers  to  help  each  other 
to  a  common  understanding  and  use  of  the  lesson. 
They  were  not  together  to  hear  what  their  super- 
intendent should  tell  them.  What  each  had  gain- 
ed in  separate  study  was  brought  there  for  the 
benefit  of  all.  The  superintendent's  work  was 
to  draw  out  the  results  of  their  study,  and  to  see 
to  it  that  any  erroneous  views  were  corrected  as 
quietly  as  was  consistent  with  effectiveness. 

Mr.  Haven's  good  sense  and  tact  were  shown  to 
peculiar  advantage  in  the  conduct  of  his  teachers' 
meetings.  A  single  illustration  of  this  will  suf- 
fice— with  the  use  of  other  names  than  the  real 
ones,  for  obvious  reasons.  The  lesson  for  the 
evening  was  "  The  Healing  of  Blind  Bartimeus." 
"  What  city  had  Jesus  visited  ?"  asked  Mr.  Ha- 
ven. "  Jericho,"  was  the  answer.  "As  he  passed 
out  from  Jericho,  who  was  sitting  by  the  way- 


SKCTION  IV. 
Mel  hods 
mid  Help**. 


All  hnving 
a  part. 


Drawing 
them  out. 


A  Model  Superintendent. 


SECTION  IV. 
Methods 
and  Ilelps. 


Jericho  asy- 
lums. 


side  ?"  "  Blind  Bartimeus,  the  son  of  Timeus."- 
"  For  what  was  he  sitting  there  ?"  "  To  beg."- 
"Mr.  White,  why  do  you  suppose  that  Bartimeus 
sat  there  and  begged  instead  of  going  to  the  Jer- 
icho blind- asy lum  ?"  asked  Mr.  Haven,  with  the 
intention  of  bringing  out  the  truth  that  there 
were  no  blind -asylums  until  Christianity  devel- 
oped them.  Unexpectedly,  however,  the  answer 
came  back,  "  Well,  I  suppose  he  had  the  feeling 
that  he  didn't  want  to  be  in  an  asylum."  Instead 
of  hastily  correcting  this  error  so  as  to  mortify 
or  embarrass  the  teacher,  Mr.  Haven  showed  no 
sign  of  surprise,  but  quietly  turned  to  one  of  his 
more  intelligent  teachers  with  the  question,  "Miss 
Green,  if  Bartimeus  had  overcome  any  prejudice 
of  this  sort  which  he  might  have  entertained,  do 
you  think  he  would  have  found  any  blind-asylum 
in  Jericho  to  go  to  ?"  "  I  had  not  supposed  there 
was  anything  of  that  nature  there  at  that  time," 
was  the  kindly,  considerate  reply.  "Is  it  your 
idea,  Mrs.  Black,"  asked  Mr.  Haven  of  yet  another 
bright  teacher,  "  that  blind-asylums  were  yet  start- 
ed anywhere  in  the  days  of  which  we  are  study- 
ing ?"  "  No,  sir,"  was  the  response ;  "  I  have  un- 
derstood that  such  institutions  for  the  care  of  the 
blind,  and  the  deaf  and  dumb,  and  the  insane, 
were  the  outgrowth  of  Christianity."  And  so  the 
desired  truth  was  gradually  brought  out,  under 
Mr.  Haven's  judicious  lead,  without  disturbing  the 


Spurring  his  Teachers. 


47 


feelings  of  the  one  \vlio  had  been  in  error  at  the 

O 

start.  And  this  was  a  specimen  of  his  wise  meth- 
ods of  helping  his  teachers  to  a  higher  attainment 
in  study. 

After  the  lesson  had  been  gone  over  in  the 
teachers'  meeting,  Mr.  Haven  would  bring  out 
some  methods  of  its  teaching  by  calling  on  one 
intelligent  teacher  or  another  to  say  how  he  or 
she  would  use  it  in  the  class.  "  Miss  Gray,  you 
have  a  class  of  bright  boys.  What  points  for 
them  do  you  find  in  this  lesson  ?  and  how  are 
you  going  to  teach  them  ?"  Or,  again,  "  Your 
scholars  are  all  church  members,  Mr.  Brown. 
How  are  you  going  to  use  this  lesson  for  their 
benefit  ?"  In  this  way  the  teachers'  meeting  con- 
joined the  best  work  of  the  normal  class  with 
that  of  the  class  for  lesson -study,  combining  the 
main  features  of  both  the  preparation  class  and 
the  practice  class  of  the  English  workers. 

No  teachers'  meeting  is  kept  up  for  a  series  of 
years  without  hard  work.  Not  only  must  the 
exercises  be  made  uniformly  attractive,  but  there 
must  be  often  renewed  effort  on  the  superintend- 
ent's part  to  stimulate  the  flagging  zeal  of  teach- 
ers in  sustaining  it,  and  to  secure  the  attendance 
of  all  who  ought  to  share  its  benefits.  Mr.  Haven 
did  not  forget  this.  At  the  opening  of  the  new 
year,  a  few  months  before  his  death,  he  addressed 
a  circular  letter  to  his  teachers  on  this  subject,  re- 


SKOTION  IV. 
Methods 
and  Helps. 


Show  how 
you  do  it. 


Urging  at- 
tendance. 


A  Model  Superintendent. 


SECTION  IV. 
Methods 
and  Helps. 


Will  you 
come ': 


A  lifc-fiml- 
cleath  mat- 
te i-. 


Let  us  pray ! 


porting  the  attendance  at  the  meetings  of  the  year 
before,  and  adding  this  appeal : 

"I  am  sure  that  all  the  teachers  desire  to  prepare  themselves 
before  they  commence  their  important  duties ;  and  I  do  not  believe 
it  is  possible  for  them  to  obtain  as  much  help  or  assistance  in  that 
preparation  in  the  same  time  in  any  other  way  as  they  can  do  by 
meeiing  with  us  for  the  mutual  study  and  examination  of  the  les- 
son, for  one  hour,  on  Saturday  evening,  at  eight  o'clock.  Will  you 
not  make  a  special  exertion  the  present  year,  and  encourage  your 
superintendent  and  fellow  -  teachers,  at  least  by  your  presence,  if 
not  by  your  counsel  and  thoughts,  at  our  weekly  meetings?" 

On  the  first  Sunday  of  his  superintendency  at 
the  little  school  in  Waterford,  in  May,  1836,  Mr. 
Haven  organized  a  teachers'  meeting  and  normal 
class  for  the  benefit  of  those  who  were  his  co- 
workers  there.  Forty  years  later,  his  last  work 
on  earth  was  in  leading  the  teachers'  meeting  of 
his  city  Sunday-school  in  !New  London.  That 
was  a  good  way  of  beginning  Sunday-school 
work.  That  was  a  good  service  to  close  life 
with.  The  superintendent  who  has  not  started 
a  teachers'  meeting  in  his  school  has  not  begun 
to  live  as  he  ought  to.  The  superintendent  who 
has  no  teachers'  meeting  to  lead  is  not  ready  to 
die. 

In  seasons  of  special  religious  interest  Mr.  Ha- 
ven would  gather  his  teachers  at  his  home  for 
consultation  and  prayer  over  the  scholars  of  their 
charge ;  or  he  would  ask  them  to  visit  their  schol- 
ars personally  to  talk  and  pray  with  them  concern- 


Praying  for  the  Scholars. 


ing  their  spiritual  welfare.     One  of  his  circular 
invitations  to  the  teachers  reads  thus: 

"You  are  kindly  invited  to  attend  a  meeting  of  the  teachers,  at 
my  house,  on  Wednesday  evening  next,  at  half-past  seven  o'clock. 
The  meeting  will  have  special  reference  to  the  religious  interest 
recently  manifested  in  the  school,  and  each  teacher  is  requested 
to  report — 

"The  number  of  scholars  in  his  or  her  class  who  are  church 
members. 

"The  number  who  have  recently  indulged  a  Christian  hope. 

"The  number  who  are  thoughtfully  considering  at  this  time 
their  own  religious  state. 

"If  you  are  unavoidably  detained  from  the  meeting,  please  send 
in  your  report." 

And  again,  on  the  Monday  after  a  Sunday's  ses- 
sion of  unusually  tender  feeling,  he  wrote  thus  to 
each  of  the  teachers  who  had  been  present : 

"DEAR  FKIEXD, — The  interest  in  personal  religion  now  per- 
vading our  dear  Sunday-school  is  of  such  a  deep  and  tender  nat-  j 
ure  that  I  feel  warranted  in  inviting  and  urging  each  teacher  to 
special  personal  effort  at  this  time  to  gather  in  the  harvest. 

"'He  that  goeth  forth  and  weepeth,  bearing  precious  seed, 
shall  doubtless  come  again  with  rejoicing,  bringing  his  sheaves 
with  him.' 

"Will  you  allow  me  to  suggest  that  during  the  present  week 
you  have  personal  conversation  with  your  scholars,  and,  when 
you  can  do  so,  have  a  religious  class-meeting  with  them  at  your 
own  house  ? 

"Thanking  you  for  your  uniformly  kind  co-operation  in  our 
Sunday-school  work,  and  for  your  sympathy  and  presence  in  our 
school  yesterday  morning,  when  the  Lord  made  our  hearts  so  glad, 
"I  remain,  yours  in  the  fellowship  of  Jesus, 

"HENRY  P.  HAVEN." 


SECTION  IV. 
Method* 

and  Help-. 


A  loving  re- 
minder. 


50 


A  Model  Superintendent. 


SECTION  IV. 
Methods 
and  Helps. 


Mnltiplyiug 
himself. 


The  place 
of  power. 


In  such  ways  as  this,  as  also  bj  his  personal  con- 
versations with  his  teachers  according  to  their  in- 
dividual possibilities  and  needs,  Mr.  Haven  not 
only  made  himself  the  helper  and  guide  of  his 
co-workers  in  every  department  of  their  Sunday- 
school  service,  but  through  them  he  multiplied 
himself  in  all  the  school  activities.  He  did  most 
by  bringing  others  to  do  more.  His  best  work 
was  in  so  skilfully  keeping  others  at  work.  That 
is  always  the  way  of  the  wise  leader  of  men. 

IN   THE   DESK. 

It  is  in  the  desk  that  the  superintendent  can 
make  himself  felt  at  his  fullest  power.  It  is  there 
that  he  can  use  to  best  advantage  all  the  influence 
he  has  gained  over  teachers  and  scholars  through 
his  personal  intercourse  with1  them  elsewhere.  At 
that  station,  if  anywhere,  he  gives  shape  and  di- 
rection to  the  character  of  the  school  as  a  school, 
and  evidences  and  exhibits  his  own  character  as 
a  man  and  as  a  leader.  Whatever  he  does  else- 
wrhere,  a  man  fails  as  a  superintendent  if  he  is 
not  successful  in  impressing  himself  upon  teach- 
ers and  scholars  alike,  and  in  bringing  all  to  unity 
of  thought  and  feeling  for  the  time  being  as  he 
stands  before  them,  in  the  school  desk.  Hence 
the  measure,  the  bearing,  and  the  methods  of  Mr. 
Haven  in  the  superintendent's  desk  are  \vell  worth 
considering. 


Leading  the  Exercises. 


51 


In  no  other  place  was  Mr.  Haven  more  thor- 
oughly characteristic,  more  completely  himself, 
than  just  there.  Of  the  very  many  who  knew 
him  in  Sunday-school  work,  more  will  probably 
recall  him  as  they  remember  him  in  the  superin- 
tendent's desk  than  in  any  other  way.  It  was 
there  that  he  was  peculiarly  reverent,  dignified, 
earnest,  tender,  and  kindly  in  personal  manner 
and  in  spoken  words;  and  it  was  there  that  he 
showed  pre-eminently  his  love  of  order,  his  love 
of  the  word  of  God,  his  love  of  old  forms  of  de- 
votion and  doctrine,  his  love  of  sacred  music,  his 
love  of  Christ,  and  his  love  of  souls.  It  was  there 
especially  that  he  was  in  all  things  an  example  of 
the  believers. 

While  in  the  desk,  Mr.  Haven  was  over  his 
school  without  being  apart  from  it.  He  there 
led  in  school  exercises — rather  than  conducted  ex- 
ercises of  his  own,  after  the  fashion  of  those  su- 
perintendents who  read  and  pray  and  talk  in  the 
desk  all  by  themselves,  as  if  it  were  now  their 
turn  to  take  up  the  time,  while  scholars  and  teach- 
ers can  have  a  chance  by-and-by,  unless  they  have 
had  it  already.  He  saw  to  it  that  all  had  a  part 
in  the  general  exercises,  and  that  each  had  a  part. 
The  Bible  readings  were  responsive,  or  alternate, 
or  elliptical.  There  were  text  recitations  in  uni- 
son, and  text  recitations  by  sections,  by  classes,  and 
by  individuals.  All  were  expected  to  join  in  the 


SECTION  IV. 

Methods 

and  Helps. 


As  he  was. 


All  and  each. 


52 


A  Model  /Superintendent. 


SECTION  IV. 
Methods 
and  Helps. 


Desk  ques- 
tions. 


Lord's  Prayer  at  the  conclusion  of  the  leader's 
prayer.  Even  the  hymn  was  read,  verse  by 
verse,  in  alternation  by  the  superintendent  and 
the  school.  An  added  interest  on  the  part  of  all 
in  the  closing  service  was  often  secured  through 
a  question  to  the  school — put  by  the  superintend- 
ent before  the  period  of  lesson-study — to  be  an- 
swered when  he  should  again  take  the  exercises 
in  hand.  For  example,  after  the  opening  ser- 
vice of  worship,  just  before  the  teachers  turned 
to  their  classes,  Mr.  Haven  would  say,  "  Our  les- 
son to-day  tells  of  three  things  said  and  of  two 
things  done.  In  our  closing  service  I  shall  ask 
you  to  tell  me  what  all  these  were."  Or,  "  There 
is  a  prayer  in  to-day's  lesson  which  all  of  us  ought 
to  offer.  I  want  you  to  be  ready  before  school 
closes  to  repeat  it  to  me  in  the  very  words  of  the 
Bible."  Or,  again,  "  We  learn  to-day  of  a  good 
action  which  we  should  do  well  to  imitate,  and 
of  a  bad  action  which  wre  ought  to  shun.  I  shall 
ask  you  by-and-by  what  these  two  actions  were." 
Such  questions  as  these  wrould  quicken  the  dull- 
est scholar  to  an  interest  in  the  search  for  an 
answer;  and  the  time  given  for  looking  up  the 
answer  would  enable  all  to  be  ready  with  it. 

There  was  a  system  of  training  and  a  process 
of  indoctrination  carried  on  in  the  general  exer- 
cises of  Mr.  Haven's  school  as  led  by  him  from 
the  desk.  Important  portions  of  Scripture  and 


Supplemental  Lessons. 


53 


uninspired  formularies  of  religious  truth  were 
thereby  intelligently  committed  to  memory.  The 
successive  arrangements  of  Bible  readings  and  rec- 
itations in  the  opening  and  closing  services  were 
made  to  exhibit  the  leading  doctrines  of  the  evan- 
gelical churches  in  the  very  words  of  the  Bible. 
At  different  times  these  proof  texts — read  or  re- 
cited for  months  together  at  the  opening  of  the 
school  session  in  both  New  London  and  Water- 
ford — showed  God  the  Creator ;  the  sinf ulness  of 
man ;  the  conditions  of  forgiveness ;  the  nature 
and  work  of  Jesus  Christ ;  the  way  of  salvation  ; 
the  church  of  Christ ;  the  resurrection ;  the  future 
state  of  the  lost  and  of  the  redeemed ;  the  duties 
of  man  ;  the  joys  of  Christian  service ;  and  other 
elementary  religious  tenets.  And  there  were  fre- 
quent recitations  of  the  Ten  Commandments,  the 
Beatitudes,  choice  psalms,  and  selections  from  the 
Epistles ;  together  with  the  Apostles'  Creed,  the 
Gloria  Patri,  the  Te  Deum  Laudamus,  and  the 
like.  In  this  way  the  end  now  aimed  at  in  \vhat 
is  sometimes  called  the  "  supplemental  lesson,"  or 
a  course  of  systematic  instruction  in  doctrine,  in 
addition  to  the  Bible  lessons  of  the  International 
series,  was  secured  by  Mr.  Haven  in  his  Sunday- 
school  work  for  long  years  before  his  death.  It 
could  not  be  said  that  those  taught  in  his  school 
studied  only  detached  portions  of  Scripture,  to 
the  neglect  of  all  training  in  the  fundamentals 


SECTION  IV. 
Methods 
mid  Helps. 


Unconscious 
indoctrina- 
tion. 


A  Model  Superintendent. 


SECTION  IV. 
Methods 
and  Helps. 


Variety  in 
method. 


Giving  no- 
tice to  help- 
ers. 


of  the  Christian  faith.  They  were  well  grounded 
in  the  great  doctrines,  and  were  lovers  of  the  old 
forms  of  truth,  while  they  were  progressive  stu- 
dents of  the  word  of  God. 

There  was  variety  in  Mr.  Haven's  method  of 
conducting  the  general  exercises  of  his  school,  as 
well  as  in  his  plan  of  Bible  selections.  At  one 
time  he  would  ask  for  the  "golden  text"  of  the 
day's  lesson  from  the  primary  department ;  again 
from  the  lady  teachers  in  unison,  or  from  the  gen- 
tleman teachers ;  again  from  the  classes  at  the 
right  of  his  desk,  or  at  the  left ;  again  from  the 
entire  school  together ;  and  yet  again,  first  from  a 
section,  and  then  from  the  whole  school.  So  it 
would  be  with  the  answers  to  his  questions  on  the 
facts  or  teachings  of  the  lesson.  And  in  the  re- 
sponsive readings  or  recitations  one  part  would 
be  assigned  to  the  assistant  superintendent,  an- 
other to  the  secretary,  another  to  the  librarians, 
as  well  as  portions  to  the  several  divisions  of  the 
school.  There  was  no  one  way  for  always,  al- 
though there  was  one  purpose  in  all.  Mr.  Haven 
knew  the  difference  between  the  "old  paths"  and 
the  "  old  ruts,"  and,  while  adhering  to  the  one,  he 
kept  out  of  the  other. 

If  he  .sought  assistance  in  the  desk  from  any 
person,  Mr.  Haven  wanted  his  helper  or  his  sub- 
stitute to  be  well  prepared  for  the  desired  service, 
and  he  gave  him  timely  notice  accordingly.  He 


An  Order  of  /Service. 


55 


felt  that  it  would  not  be  fair  to  call  on  a  teacher 
to  even  lead  the  devotions  of  the  school  in  prayer 
without  any  opportunity  of  preparation,  and  he 
did  not  attempt  anything  of  the  sort.  Yet  he 
believed  that  there  was  an  advantage  in  having 
the  voices  of  his  teachers  heard  in  prayer  in  the 
desk  from  time  to  time,  and  he  planned  wisely  to 
secure  this.  At  the  beginning  of  each  quarter 
he  issued  cards  of  notification  to  those  teachers 
whom  he  wished  to  call  on  during  three  months, 
in  the  following  form  : 


To 


You  are  invited  to  offer  prayer  in  the  devotional 
exercises  of  the  school,  Sunday  morning, — - 

187 

HENRY  P.  HAVEN,  Snpt. 


If  necessarily  absent,  please  give  previous  notice  to  the 
superintendent  or  secretary. 


While  no  one  schedule  of  his  school  exercises 
will  give  a  fair  idea  of  the  many  varied  plans  of 
service  arranged  by  Mr.  Haven,  there  is  perhaps 
no  better  way  of  showing  their  general  character- 
istics than  by  an  illustrative  specimen,  as  follows : 

ORDER   AND    EXERCISES   OF   WORSHIP. 

At  9. 14  A.M.  a  single  bell-tap  calls  to  attention. 
At  9.15  the  bell  strikes  twice,  and  the  school  rises. 


SECTION  IV. 
Methods 
.•mil  Helps. 


A  notifying 
card. 


A  plan  of 
exercises. 


56 


A  Model  Superintendent. 


SECTION  IV. 

Methods 

and  Helps. 


Opening 
sentences. 


Chanting. 


The  superintendent  says : 

[May]  grace  and  peace  be  multiplied  unto  you,  through  the 
knowledge  of  God,  and  of  Jesus  our  Lord. — 2  Pet.  i,  2. 

The  school  responds : 

The  Lord  that  made  heaven  and  earth  bless  thee  out  of  Zion. — 
Psa.  cxxxiv,  3. 

Selections  are  read  from  Psa.  Ixxxix : 
Superintendent  : 

God  is  greatly  to  be  feared  in  the  assembly  of  the  saints, 
And  to  be  had  in  reverence  of  all  them  that  are  about  him. 

School : 

O  Lord  God  of  hosts,  who  is  a  strong  Lord  like  unto  thee  ? 
Or  to  thy  faithfulness  round  about  thee? 
Justice  and  judgment  are  the  habitation  of  thy  throne : 
Mercy  and  truth  shall  go  before  thy  face. 

Primary  class: 

Blessed  is  the  people  that  know  the  joyful  sound  : 

They  shall  walk,  O  Lord!  in  the  light  of  thy  countenance. 

Superintendent : 

In  thy  name  shall  they  rejoice  all  the  day  ; 
And  in  thy  righteousness  shall  they  be  exalted. 
For  the  Lord  is  our  defence, 
And  the  Holy  One  of  Israel  is  our  King. 

All  in  concert : 

Blessed  be  the  Lord  for  evermore ! 
Amen,  and  Amen. 

A  selection  from  Psa.  cxlv  is  chanted  : 

I  will  extol  thee,  my  |  God,  O  |  King ; 

And  I  will  bless  thy  |  name  for  I  ever  and  |  ever. 

Every  day  will  I  [  bless  |  thee ; 

And  I  will  praise  thy  |  name  for  |  ever  and  |  ever. 

The  Lord  is  gracious  and  |  full  of  com-  |  passion ; 


An  Order  of  Service. 


57 


mercy. 


all  his 
ways, 


works. 


Slow  to  anger,  |  and  of  |  great 

The  Lord  is  |  good  to  |  all ; 

And  his  tender  mercies  are  |  over 

The  Lord  is  righteous  in  |  all  his 

z\nd  |  holy  in  |  all  his  |  works. 

The  Lord  preserveth  all  |  them  that  |  love  him, 

But  all  the  wicked  |  will  |  he  de-  |  stroy. 

The  school  is  seated,  and  the  superintendent  reads  a  brief  Script- 
ure selection  appropriate  to  the  lesson  of  the  day. 

The  school  rises  for  responsive  readings  from  Jeremiah  : 

Superintendent : 

Hear  ye  the  word  of  the  Lord,  O  house  of  Jacob ; 
And  all  the  families  of  the  house  of  Israel. 

School: 

Thus  saith  the  Lord, 

Stand  ye  in  the  ways  and  see, 

And  ask  for  the  old  paths, 

Where  is  the  good  way,  and  walk  therein, 

And  ye  shall  find  rest  for  your  souls. 

Superintendent : 

Return,  ye  backsliding  children, 
And  I  will  heal  your  backslidings. 

School : 

Behold,  we  come  unto  thee, 

For  thou  art  the  Lord  our  God. 

Truly  in  vain  is  salvation  hoped  for  from  the  hills, 

And  from  the  multitude  of  mountains : 

Truly  in  the  Lord  our  God  is  the  salvation  of  Israel. 

Superintendent : 

But  this  thing  commanded  I  them,  saying, 

Obey  my  voice, 

And  I  will  be  your  God, 

And  ye  shall  be  my  people : 


SECTION  IV. 
Methods 
and  Helps. 


Responsive 
readings. 


58 


A  Model  Superintendent. 


SECTION  IV. 
Methods 
and  Helps. 


Praise  aud 
prayer. 


Doctrinal 
recitations. 


And  walk  ye  in  all  the  ways  that  I  have  commanded  you, 
That  it  may  be  well  unto  you. 
School : 

Thus  saith  the  Lord, 

Let  not  the  wise  man  glory  in  his  wisdom, 
Neither  let  the  mighty  man  glory  in  his  might ; 
Let  not  the  rich  man  glory  in  his  riches. 

Sujierintendent : 

But  let  him  that  glorieth  glory  in  this, 

That  he  understandeth  and  knoweth  me, 

That  I  am  the  Lord  which  exercise  loving-kindness, 

Judgment,  and  righteousness,  in  the  earth. 

School : 

For  in  these  things  I  delight,  saith  the  Lord. 

Primary  class  : 

Wilt  thou  not  from  this  time  cry  unto  me, 
My  father !  thou  art  the  guide  of  my  youth. 

A II  in  concert  : 

Therefore  they  shall  come  and  sing  in  the  height  of  Zion, 
And  shall  flow  together  to  the  goodness  of  the  Lord. 

A  selected  hymn  is  sung,  after  being  read  by  the  superintendent 
and  school  in  alternate  verses. 

The  school  being  seated — all  with  bowed  heads — prayer  is  of- 
fered, closing  with  the  Lord's  Prayer,  in  which  all  join  audibly. 

(Tliis  prayer  is  offered  on  the  first  Sunday  in  each  month  by  the 
superintendent;  on  the  other  Sundays  by  a  teacher  who  has  been 
notified  at  the  beginning  of  the  quarter.) 

The  school  rises  and  recites  in  concert  selections  from  Scripture, 
showing  the  nature  and  work  of  Jesus  Christ,  as  the  several  state- 
ments are  declared  in  their  order  by  the  superintendent : 

JESUS    CHRIST    IS    THE    SOX    OF    GOD. 

I  will  declare  the  decree :  the  Lord  hath  said  unto  me,  Thou 
art  my  Son  ;  this  day  have  I  begotten  thee. — Psa.  ii,  7. 


An  Order  of  Service. 


59 


For  he  received  from  God  the  Father  honor  and  glory,  when 
there  came  such  a  voice  to  him  from  the  excellent  glory,  This  is 
my  beloved  Son,  in  whom  I  am  well  pleased. — 2  Pet.  i,  17. 

HE    18   ALSO   GOD. 

In  the  beginning  was  the  Word,  and  the  Word  was  with  God, 
and  the  Word  was  God. — John  i,  1. 

But  unto  the  Son  he  saith,  Thy  throne,  O  God,  is  for  ever  and 
ever:  a  sceptre  of  righteousness  is  the  sceptre  of  thy  kingdom. — 
Heb.  i,  8. 

HE    BECAME    MAN. 

And  the  Word  was  made  flesh,  and  dwelt  among  us  (and  we 
beheld  his  glory,  the  glory  as  of  the  only  begotten  of  the  Father), 
full  of  grace  and  truth. — John  i,  14. 

For  verily  he  took  not  on  him  the  nature  of  angels ;  but  he  took 
on  him  the  seed  of  Abraham. — Heb.  ii,  16. 

HE    IS    WILLING    TO    SAVE    SINNERS. 

This  is  a  faithful  saying,  and  worthy  of  all  acceptation,  that 
Christ  Jesus  came  into  the  world  to  save  sinners.  —  I  Tim.  i,  15. 

And  we  have  seen  and  do  testify  that  the  Father  sent  the  Son 
to  be  the  Saviour  of  the  world. — 1  John  iv,  14. 

HE    DIED    FOR    THEM. 

But  God  commendeth  his  love  toward  us,  in  that,  while  we  were 
yet  sinners,  Christ  died  for  us. — Rom.  v,  8. 

For  I  delivered  unto  you  first  of  all  that  which  I  also  received, 
how  that  Christ  died  for  our  sins  according  to  the  Scriptures. — 
1  Cor.  xv,  3. 

HE    ROSE    FROM    THE    DEAD. 

This  Jesus  hath  God  raised  up,  whereof  we  all  are  witnesses. — 
Acts  ii,  32. 

For  to  this  end  Christ  both  died,  and  rose,  and  revived,  that  he 
might  be  Lord  both  of  the  dead  and  living. — Rom.  xiv,  9. 

HE    IS    OUR   MEDIATOR. 

And  to  Jesus  the  Mediator  of  the  new  covenant,  and  to  the 


SECTION  IV, 
Method* 
and  Helps. 


Doctrinnl 

recitation.-. 


60 


A  Model  Superintendent. 


SECTION  IV, 

Methods 

and  Helps. 


Doctrinal 
recitations. 


Lesson 
study. 


Closing  ex- 
ercises. 


blood  of  sprinkling,  that  speaketh  better  things  than  that  of  Abel. 
— Heb.  xii,  L>4. 

For  there  is  one  God,  and  one  mediator  between  God  and  men, 
the  man  Christ  Jesus. — 1  Tim.  ii,  5. 

HE    IS    OCR    INTERCESSOR. 

Who  is  he  that  condemneth  ?  It  is  Christ  that  died,  yea  rather 
that  is  risen  again,  who  is  even  at  the  right  hand  of  God,  who  also 
maketh  intercession  for  us. — Kom.  viii,  34. 

Wherefore  he  is  able  also  to  save  them  to  the  uttermost  that 
come  unto  God  by  him,  seeing  he  ever  liveth  to  make  intercession 
for  them. — Heb.  vii,  25. 

(A  hymn  is  sung,  on  the  first  Sunday  of  the  month,  by  the  pri- 
mary class  alone.) 

The  school  is  seated.  Announcements  and  notices  for  the  day 
and  week  are  made. 

At  9.35  the  class  exercises  begin.  Forty  minutes  are  given  to 
these. 

At  10.13  a  single  tap  of  the  bell  gives  two  minutes'  notice  of  the 
close  of  lesson-stud}r. 

At  10.15  a  second  bell-tap  calls  to  attention. 

The  "golden  text"  is  recited  by  the  teachers,  by  designated 
classes,  or  by  the  entire  school,  as  called  for  by  the  superintendent. 

At  10.17  the  missionary  offerings  for  the  day  are  gathered, 
while  appropriate  passages  of  Scripture  on  Christian  giving  are 
recited  by  the  superintendent  or  chanted  by  the  school  choir,  as, 
for  example : 

Lay  up  for  yourselves  |  treasures  in  |  heaven,  |  where  neither 
moth  nor  rust  doth  corrupt,  and  where  thieves  do  |  not  break  | 
through  nor  |  steal. 

Remember  the  words  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  |  how  he  |  said,  |  It  is 
more  blessed  to  |  give  than  |  to  re-  |  ceive. 

To  do  good  and  to  communicate,  |  forget  not;  |  for  with  such 
sacrifices  |  God  is  |  well  |  pleased. 

He  that  soweth  sparingly  shall  I  reap  also  |  sparingly;  |  and  he 
that  soweth  bountifully  shall  |  reap  |  also  |  bountifully. 


With  the  Scholars. 


Gl 


At  10.1!)  the  superintendent  reviews  the  lesson  by  questions, 
and  adds  comments. 

At  10.29  a  hymn  is  sung. 

The  attendance  for  the  day  is  announced. 

The  school  closes  with  the  Gloria  Patri : 

Glory  be  to  the  Father,  and  to  the  Son,  and  to  the  Holy  Ghost ; 
As  it  was  in  the  beginning,  is  now,  and  ever  shall  be,  world  with- 
out end.     Amen. 

AVITII    THE    SCHOLARS. 

The  primary  object  of  a  Sunday -school  is  the 
good  of  its  scholars.  Unless  they  are  advantaged, 
the  school  is  practically  a  failure.  It  may  be  a 
unit  in  its  organization,  superintendent  and  teach- 
ers working  as  one  in  its  management ;  it  may 
have  completeness  of  system  and  beauty  of  meth- 
od; its  exercises  may  seem  attractive  and  impres- 
sive ;  its  atmosphere  may  be  one  of  reverence  and 
devotion  ;  its  teachers  may  be  thoroughly  instruct- 
ed ;  its  attendance  may  be  large  and  uniform, — 
and  yet  its  scholars  may  lack  that  attention  to 
their  individual  needs  which  would  make  profit- 
able to  them  personally  all  that  the  school  offers 
for  their  welfare.  Unless  a  superintendent  knows 
how  his  scholars  fare  in  and  through  their  Sun- 
day-school, he  does  not  know  \vhether  his  school 
is  a  good  one  or  not ;  whether  it  is  falling  short 
of  or  meeting  the  chief  object  of  its  being. 

Mr.  Haven  was  not  a  superintendent  to  neglect 
attention  to  his  scholars.  It  was  not  enough  for 


Sl'.CTION    IV. 

Method* 
and  Helps. 


Gloria  Patri. 


The  test  of  a 
good  school. 


62 


A  Model  Superintendent. 


SHOTION  IV. 
Methods 
and  Helps. 


Looking 
iifier  the 
scholars. 


A  home 
party. 


him  to  so  conduct  the  school  exercises  that  all  the 
scholars  should  have  an  intelligent  part  in  them ; 
to  give  such  prominence  to  the  matter  of  punct- 
ual attendance  and  systematic  giving  and  lesson 
recitations  as  should  make  every  scholar  feel  a 
personal  pressure  to  be  faithful ;  nor  yet  to  en- 
join it  upon  his  teachers  to  plead  and  to  pray  with 
their  scholars  individually, —  he  must  look  after 
the  scholars  himself;  he  must  reach  them  col- 
lectively and  singly  as  scholars,  apart  from  their 
place  in  the  school  as  a  whole.  To  this  end  he 
was  untiringly  faithful.  Although  their  number 
was  so  large  in  his  two  schools,  he  sought  to  know 
all  his  scholars  personally.  This  was  far  easier  in 
the  country  than  in  the  city  school.  From  the 
latter  he  was  accustomed  to  invite  all  to  his  house 
on  a  summer  evening,  arranging  for  their  coming 
in  three  divisions,  that  they  might  be  the  better 
provided  for.  The  primary  class  would  be  there 
from  five  o'clock  to  six ;  the  intermediate  depart- 
ment from  six  and  a  half  to  seven  and  a  half  \  the 
senior  department  from  eight  to  ten.  Refresh- 
ments were  prepared  for  them ;  and  there  was 
an  opportunity  of  a  closer  personal  acquaintance 
than  would  be  possible  at  the  school.  Then  there 
would  be  a  summer  sail  up  the  river  for  a  picnic 
gathering  in  the  woods  above,  and  a  New-year's 
assembling  in  the  chapel  for  pleasant  social  exer- 
cises, and  other  occasional  meetings,  not  distinctly 


Enjoying  a  Laugh. 


63 


religious,  whereby  the  scholars  and  their  teachers 
might  come  to  know  each  other  and  their  super- 
intendent more  familiarly.  To  promote  the  pur- 
pose of  these  gatherings,  an  "  Agreeable  Commit- 
tee" was  formed,  to  see  that  all  wrere  acquainted 
and  had  a  good  time  together.  There  are  a  good 
many  teachers  outside  of  New  London  who  might 
gain  from  a  term  of  service  on  such  a  committee 
as  that. 

The  genial  and  heartier  side  of  Mr.  Haven's 
nature  showed  itself  to  advantage  in  these  social 
gatherings.  He  entered  into  all  the  enjoyments 
of  his  scholars  with  unmistakable  relish.  "  I  saw 
him  once,"  says  his  pastor,  "  when  over  fifty  years 
of  age,  playing  ball,  with  his  coat  off,  at  a  Sun- 
day-school picnic,  as  heartily  as  any  boy  on  the 
ground."  And  he  could  laugh  right  merrily  when 
there  was  a  chance  for  a  good  laugh.  On  one  oc- 
casion when  he  had  the  scholars  at  his  house  of  a 
summer  evening  to  eat  strawberries  from  his  own 
garden,  he  attempted  a  moral  lesson,  which  was 
turned  most  unexpectedly  into  a  laugh,  enjoyed 
by  himself  as  much  as  by  anybody.  Calling  the 
attention  of  the  little  folks,  who  were  filling  them- 
selves with  the  luscious  fruit,  plentifully  supplied 
with  cream  and  sugar,  Mr.  Haven  said,  "  Scholars, 
do  you  like  these  strawberries  ?"  "  Yes,  sir ;  yes, 
sir,"  came  back  in  full  chorus.  "  "Well,  now,  I 
want  to  ask  you  a  question.  Suppose  you  had 


SECTION  IV. 
Methods 
and  Helps. 


An  "Agree- 
able Com- 
mittee." 


Eating 
strawber- 
ries. 


A  Model  Superintendent. 


Sugar 
cream 


and 


SECTION  iv.  oeen  passing;  my  house  and  had  seen  these  straw- 
Methods  i  J 
and  Helps,   berries  on  the  vines  in  my  garden,  and  you  had 

slipped  in  through  the  gate  and  taken  some  of 
them  from  the  vines  without  asking  permission, 
would  they  have  tasted  as  well  to  you  as  they  do 
now?" — "JS"o,  sir;  no,  sir,"  was  the  one  answer 
from  all.  "  And  why  not  ?"  asked  the  superintend- 
ent, intent  on  pressing  home  the  sure  drawbacks  of 
dishonesty.  "And  why  not?"  There  was  a  mo- 
ment's pause,  and  then  there  came  the  unlooked- 
for  reply,  "  Because,  sir,  we  shouldn't  have  had 
any  sugar  and  cream  on  them."  It  was  evident 
that  that  boy  appreciated  sugar  and  cream  in 
strawberry  time,  whatever  were  his  doubts  as  to 
honesty  being  the  best  policy;  and  Mr.  Haven 
was  content  to  let  the  strawberries  have  the  first 
place  in  all  thoughts  for  that  evening. 

But  all  this  effort  to  become  pleasantly  ac- 
quainted with  his  scholars  was  with  a  purpose  to 
promote  their  truest  welfare.  He  would  ascer- 
tain their  personal  circumstances  and  qualities 
and  their  plans  or  desires,  and  then  give  them 
advice  or  help  accordingly.  "  It  is  not  only  as  a 
teacher  here  that  I  rniss  Mr.  Haven,"  said  a  schol- 
ar of  his  "Waterford  school  after  the  good  superin- 
tendent had  entered  into  rest,  "  but  I've  lost  the 
best  friend  I  ever  had."  And  there  were  very 
many  scholars  in  both  his  schools  who  could  have 
said  the  same  thing  sincerely.  Mr.  Haven  was  al- 


A  sfoo 
frieud. 


Young  Communicants. 


05 


ways  on  the  watch  to  counsel  and  train  his  schol- 
ars religiously.  A  favorite  plan  of  his  was  to  in- 
vite them  to  read  the  Bible  regularly  in  the  same 
order  in  which  he  was  reading  it.  In  one  year 
nearly  seventy  in  the  ]Srew  London  school  perse- 
vered in  this  plan  throughout  a  designated  course 
of  reading.  By  this  means  Mr.  Haven  could  know 
just  what  passages  of  Scripture  were  in  their  day's 
reading  when  he  met  these  scholars  during  the 
week ;  and  he  could  be  more  sure  of  reaching 
them  by  any  word  spoken  in  the  line  of  that  read- 
ing on  Sunday  from  the  desk.  So  soon  as  he  ob- 
served any  signs  of  special  religious  interest  in  the 
school,  Mr.  Haven  was  sure  to  look  after  particu- 
lar scholars,  that  he  might  bring  them  to  a  Chris- 
tian decision  or  strengthen  their  new-found  faith. 
To  this  intent  he  would  have  them  at  his  house, 
evening  after  evening,  singly  or  in  little  groups. 
When  they  were  ready  to  unite  with  the  church, 
he  had  words  of  suggestion  or  cheer  for  them. 
In  June,  1874,  for  example,  he  had  at  his  house, 
on  a  Saturday  evening,  twenty-three  of  his  schol- 
ars who  were  to  make  a  profession  of  their  faith 
at  the  next  communion.  He  gave  them  advice 
concerning  their  duties  in  and  to  the  church ;  he 
emphasized  the  responsibility  of  the  step  they 
were  about  taking ;  he  prayed  with  them ;  and, 
in  parting,  he  gave  to  each  a  copy  of  a  little  book 
— "A  Walk  to  the  Communion  Table" — having 


SKOTION  IV. 
Methods 
and  Help*. 


Bible  read- 
ing 


Preparing 
for  coni- 
muuion. 


A  Model  Superintendent. 


SEOTION  IV, 
Methods 
and  Helps. 


A  religions 
class/ 


in  it  the  scholar's  name,  with  an  appropriate  text 
of  Scripture.  And  this  is  an  illustration  of  his 
methods  in  this  line. 

Mr.  Haven  valued  organization  and  co-work  for 
the  culturing  and  developing  of  Christian  graces. 
As  early  as  1842  a  "Religious  Class"  was  formed 
in  connection  with  his  little  Waterford  school, 
"having  for  its  object  the  religions  improvement 
and  growth  in  grace  of  the  professed  followers  of 
Jesus  in  that  vicinity."  Its  plan  was  not  unlike 
that  of  the  Methodist  "  class -meeting,"  with  the 
added  features  of  the  "  inquiry -meeting."  Its 
meetings  were  monthly.  Members  of  the  class 
were  expected  to  attend,  if  possible,  every  meet- 
ing, and  "  to  answer  in  turn  the  questions  of  the 
superintendent  on  religious  subjects,  particularly 
respecting  the  state  of  their  own  hearts."  They 
were,  "if  necessarily  absent,  to  remember  in  secret 
or  silent  prayer  those  who  were  assembled  togeth- 
er." Each  member  of  the  class  was  at  liberty  to 
invite  in  any  friends  who  were  indulging  a  Chris- 
tian hope,  or  who  were  seeking  salvation,  with  the 
understanding  that  the  new-comers  should  be  also 
ready  to  answer  any  questions  propounded  by  the 
superintendent.  Twenty-five  years  later  a  similar 
class  was  formed  by  Mr.  Haven  in  his  New  Lon- 
don school ;  from  which  it  may  fairly  be  inferred 
that  he  found  its  workings  beneficial  in  its  earlier 
experiment.  There  was  also  in  connection  with 


Among  the  Records. 


67 


his  city  school  a  Young  Men's  Christian  Union, 
"designed  to  include  all  young  men  of  the  school 
and  congregation  over  fifteen  years  old  who  were 
desirous  of  improving  their  hearts  and  minds,  that 
they  might  become  efficient  helpers  in  advancing 
the  kingdom  of  Christ  and  promoting  the  best  in- 
terests of  society."  And  "  the  young  ladies  of  the 
school  between  the  ages  of  fourteen  and  twenty" 
were  gathered,  with  those  from  another  school, 
into  the  "  Schauffler  Missionary  Society,"  as  auxil- 
iary to  the  Woman's  Board  of  Missions  at  Boston. 
Thus,  by  his  personal  efforts  with  individual 
scholars,  and  by  his  various  plans  for  their  mutual 
quickening,  cultivation,  and  co-work,  Mr.  Haven 
cared  for  and  ministered  to  the  scholars  of  his 
charge,  while  conducting  so  admirably  the  school 
of  which  he  and  they  were  members.  He  made 
provision  for  each  as  well  as  for  all;  and  herein 
was  wisdom. 

AMONG   THE    RECORDS. 

Nothing  in  the  line  of  method  and  machinery 
in  Sunday-school  work  is  more  important  than  a 
thorough  system  of  registration  and  records.  A 
superintendent's  best  assistant  is  a  competent  sec- 
retary, and  a  good  superintendent  will  be  sure  to 
have  a  good  secretary;  if  he  does  not  find  one  at 
hand,  he  will  train  one  to  order.  Under  no  cir- 
cumstances will  he  try  to  get  on  without  one,  or 


SECTION  IV. 
Methods 
and  Helps. 

Co-working 
associa- 
tions. 


A  secreta- 
ry's impor- 
tance. 


68 


A  Model  Superintendent. 


SECTION  IV. 
Methods 
and  Helps. 


The  use  of 
history. 


without  the  work  of  one,  even  if  he  has  to  do  it 
himself.  A  knowledge  of  one's  possessions,  an 
acquaintance  with  the  material  available  for  use, 
and  a  record  of  all  that  comes  in  or  goes  out,  is 
essential  to  the  wise  management  of  any  business, 
secular  or  religious.  Nowhere  is  it  more  indis- 
pensable than  in  the  Sunday-school.  Twenty  or 
two  hundred  scholars  cannot  be  kept  track  of  and 
properly  cared  for  unless  they  are  individually 
known  and  noted,  systematically  registered,  and 
their  attendance  or  absence  carefully  recorded. 

Moreover,  for  the  good  of  the  school  as  well  as 
of  the  scholars,  there  should  be  preserved  the  rec- 
ord of  those  who  have  gone  out  from  its  member- 
ship, and  the  story  of  the  school's  circumstances 
and  progress  in  former  years.  What  has  been 
done  in  and  through  a  school  often  settles  the 
question  of  what  may  reasonably  be  expected 
through  its  agency.  There  is  no  Sunday-school 
where  God's  word  has  been  taught  faithfully  for 
a  series  of  years  whose  full  record  would  not 
show  reasons  for  giving  God  praise  and  for  trust- 
ing him  confidently,  while  it  supplied  incentives 
to  yet  greater  zeal  in  the  same  field  for  the  fut- 
ure. Every  school  is  entitled  to  the  stimulus  and 
cheer  of  its  own  best  history.  The  superintend- 
ent who  fails  to  secure  such  help  to  his  school 
to  the  extent  of  his  ability  is  unfaithful  in  that 
which  is  much.  And  those  who  have  been  schol- 


A  Good  /Set  of  Books. 


69 


ars  in  a  Sunday-school  ought  not  to  be  wholly  neg- 
lected by  it  when  they  are  no  longer  in  attendance, 
if  there  is  a  possibility  of  drawing  them  back  to 
its  influence  while  they  are  un cared  for  elsewhere. 
Every  consideration  should  impel  him  who  would 
have  a  good  Sunday-school,  and  have  it  do  a  good 
work,  to  have  a  good  secretary,  and  see  that  he 
does  his  work  well.  Mr.  Haven  was  no  more 
neglectful  in  this  department  than  in  any  other. 
Had  he  been,  he  could  not  have  been  spoken  of  as 
a  model  superintendent. 

!No  sooner  did  he  begin  his  Sunday-school  at 
Waterford  than  he  began  a  system  of  records. 
These  records  were  continued  during  his  forty 
years  of  service  there  with  such  fidelity  and  com- 
pleteness that  it  would  be  easy  at  all  times  to  as- 
certain the  main  incidents  of  any  given  Sunday's 
session,  with  the  attendance  on  that  Sunday  of 
teachers  and  scholars ;  also  the  actual  membership 
of  the  school,  and  its  actual  and  average  attend- 
ance, year  by  year;  the  whole  number  of  Sundays 
on  which  any  designated  teacher  or  scholar  had 
been  present  in  all  the  years  of  his  membership ; 
together  with  aggregates  and  averages  of  attend- 
ance in  particular  and  in  general,  and  the  amount 
of  charities  in  gross  and  in  detail.  Besides  this 
record  of  the  school-life  and  of  attendance,  there 
was  a  ledger  record  of  members  of  the  school, 
teachers  and  scholars  alike.  This  was  kept  in  a 


SECTION  IV. 
Methods 
and  Helps. 


Write  in  a 
book. 


70 


A  Model  Superintendent. 


SECTION  IV. 
Methods 
and  Helps. 


Keeping 
track  of  old 
members. 


How  to 
have  good 
helpers. 


volume  of  ample  size,  so  arranged  as  to  give  a  fair 
space  on  a  blank  page  for  the  name  and  growing 
story  of  each  person  entering  the  school.  Under 
the  name  various  items  of  interest  concerning  the 
scholar  or  teacher  were  added  from  time  to  time, 
even  though  the  person  had  ceased  to  be  a  mem- 
ber of  the  school.  In  this  way  it  was  easy  to 
track  the  record  of  all  who  had  been  at  any  time 
connected  with  the  school,  and  to  know  more  than 
would  otherwise  be  possible  of  the  good  results  of 
its  instruction  and  influence  as  evidenced  in  the 
lives  of  its  members. 

It  may  be  said  that  it  would  be  easy  to  keep  up 
such  a  system  of  records  as  this  for  a  small  school 
in  the  country,  but  that  it  would  be  out  of  the 
question  for  a  large  school  in  the  city.  Mr.  Ha- 
ven, however,  adopted  the  same  plan  for  his  New 
London  school,  with  its  membership  of  four  hun- 
dred and  more ;  and  if  that  school  had  numbered 
yet  ten  times  as  many,  he  would  have  deemed 
like  thoroughness  in  its  records  only  so  much 
the  more  important.  He  was  favored  in  his  city 
school  with  a  secretary  of  rare  efficiency  and 
faithfulness,  and  he  prized  the  labors  of  this  co- 
worker  at  their  fullest.  There  would  be  more 
good  Sunday-school  secretaries  if  more  superin- 
tendents rightly  estimated  the  services  of  these 
assistants.  All  that  was  secured  by  the  records 
of  the  Waterford  school  was  included  in  the  sys- 


An  Annual  fieport. 


71 


tern  maintained  at  New  London.  The  record 
ledger  for  the  school  membership  was  of  large 
size.  One  fourth  of  a  page  was  allotted  to  each 
name.  The  names  were  chronologically  arranged, 
and  an  alphabetical  index  at  the  close  of  the  vol- 
ume facilitated  the  finding  of  any  name  sought 
for.  An  illustration  of  its  entries  will  perhaps 
explain  them  better  than  any  description.  Thus : 

"  OLIVER  WOODWORTH  : 

Entered  February  14,  1858.  Appointed  teacher  September  9, 
1860.  Assistant  superintendent  in  1868,  1870, 1871.  Joined 
the  church  by  letter  in  July,  1854.  Took  a  class  of  young  la- 
dies October  19,  1862.  Up  to  July  1,  1871,  it  has  had  forty- 
eight  different  members,  fourteen  of  whom  were  married  la- 
dies. It  has  furnished  eight  teachers  to  the  school.  Super- 
intendent of  mission-school  in  1871." 

At  the  close  of  each  year  a  full  report  of  the 
school- life  was  made  up  by  the  secretary.  This 
was  commonly  printed.  It  contained  matter  val- 
uable for  future  reference.  For  example,  the  for- 
tieth report,  published  the  year  before  Mr.  Ha- 
ven's death,  gave,  a  full  list  of  the  officers  and 
teachers,  and  of  the  scholars,  arranged  in  classes. 
It  told  the  school  story  for  the  year,  including  the 
fluctuations  of  attendance,  the  various  special  ser- 
vices, the  course  of  study,  the  plan  of  devotional 
exercises,  the  charities,  together  with  responses  re- 
ceived from  particular  donations.  It  gave  the 
names  of  those  members  who  had  been  present 


SECTION  IV. 
Methods 

and  II',-. 


A  specimen 
story. 


The  fortieth 
report. 


72 


A  Model  Superintendent. 


SECTION  IV, 
Methods 
aud  Helps. 


The  war 
record. 


Studying 
the  entries. 


every  Sunday,  and  of  classes  which  were  note- 
worthy for  their  punctuality.  It  contained  a  spe- 
cial tribute  to  the  memory  of  teachers  and  schol- 
ars who  had  died  during  the  year.  It  also  gave 
an  outline  sketch  of  the  school  history  for  its 
forty  years  then  completed,  and  much  other  mat- 
ter of  interest  concerning  the  school  plans  and 
methods.  The  annual  report  for  1865  reviewed 
the  connection  of  the  school  with  the  struggle  to 
maintain  the  national  authority,  and  gave  a  list  of 
its  sixty -six  members  who  were  in  the  army  or 
navy  during  the  war — including  two  colonels,  one 
major,  one  chaplain,  seven  captains,  seven  lieuten- 
ants, in  the  army,  and  ten  officers  or  men  in  the 
navy — together  with  a  personal  sketch  of  each 
one  who  had  fallen  in  defence  of  his  country.  It 
was  a  source  of  regret  to  Mr.  Haven  that  his 
New  London  school  lacked  such  a  record  of  its 
work  and  membership  prior  to  his  assuming  its 
charge. 

Although  he  confided  all  the  preparation  and 
compilation  of  the  school  records  to  his  trusty  sec- 
retary, Mr.  Haven  felt  it  to  be  his  duty  to  become 
thoroughly  familiar  with  their  contents,  week  by 
week.  The  completed  record  was  put  into  his 
hands  at  the  close  of  the  school  session  each  Sun- 
day, and  he  took  it  home  with  him  for  study.  It 
was  his  custom  to  rise  an  hour  earlier  on  Monday 
morning  than  on  other  days  of  the  week,  that  he 


Cards  of  Itequest. 


SECTION  IV. 
Methods 
and  Help?. 


might  devote  the  extra  time  to  an  examination  of 
the  Sunday-school  records.  He  carefully  observed 
the  attendance  of  teachers  and  scholars  individu- 
ally. If  one  had  been  absent  the  last  Sunday,  he 
looked  back  to  see  if  this  were  the  first  absence. 
In  this  way  he  was  constantly  on  the  watch  to 
guard  against  a  dropping -out  of  any  from  the 
school  membership  without  due  efforts  to  retain 
them ;  also  to  secure  due  attention  to  those  who 
might  be  sick  or  in  need.  As  early  as  1858  he 
had  adopted  the  plan  of  sending  out  cards  of  re-  sdu)lar? 
quest  to  teachers  for  information  concerning  ab- 
sent scholars.  The  cards  were  kept  at  hand,  in 
blank,  for  use  in  his  Monday -morning  examina- 
tions of  the  record.  When  filled  up,  they  would 
read  as  follows — the  words  in  italics  being  those 
written  by  him,  or  by  the  teacher,  in  the  blank 
spaces  of  the  printed  cards.  On  the  one  side : 


Where 
is  your 


f  mmfr  (CnngrFgntiatinl  fimltaij-srjjnnl. 

Miss  Mary  Brown's  Class. 


Charles  Thompson 
Has  been  absent  three  Sundays. 

Henry  P.  Haven,  Superintendent. 


This  told  the  story  of  the  need.     On  the  other 


74: 


A  Model  /Superintendent. 


SECTION  IV. 
Methods 


side  came  the  call  to  meet  the  want,  and  to  make 


nnd  He'P*-   report  accordingly.     Thus : 


Holding 
teachers 
to  it. 


Who  belong 
here  ? 


The  teacher  is  requested  to  ascertain  the  reason 
of  absence  (by  visiting  the  scholar,  if  possible),  and 
return  this  card  next  Sunday. 


RE  AS  OUST. 

Charles  Thompson  has  moved  to  Norwich  with  Jm 
parents. 


Only  by  some  such  general  oversight  as  this  of 
the  school  records  can  all  the  teachers  in  any 
Sunday-school  be  kept  up  uniformly  to  fidelity 
in  looking  after  their  absent  scholars.  Mr.  Ha- 
ven was  too  good  a  superintendent  not  to  realize 
this  truth.  Moreover,  a  plan  of  this  kind  enables 
a  superintendent  to  ascertain  who  of  his  teachers 
are  faithful,  and  who  of  them  need  prompting 
and  training,  or  to  be  removed  from  their  places 
for  inefficiency. 

There  was  another  advantage  in  Mr.  Haven's 
Monday-morning  study  of  the  records.  It  show- 
ed him  who  had  been  in  the  Sunday-school,  but 
were  now  out  of  it ;  and,  from  his  familiarity 
with  the  congregation,  he  was  also  reminded 
who  were  not  in  the  Sunday-school,  but  ought 
to  be.  These  facts  he  made  practically  service- 
able. For  example,  here  is  a  form  of  a  circular 


Circular  to  Old  Scholars. 


75 


letter  sent  out  by  him  to  former  members  of 
the  school  whom  he  hoped  to  win  back  to  its  at- 
tendance : 

" SUNDAY-SCHOOL  OF  THK  SECOND  CONGREGATIONAL  CHURCH,) 
"NKW  LONDON,  December  26, 1874.  ) 

"  DEAR  FRIEND, — The  records  of  the  secretary  of  our  school 
show  that  you  were  formerly  one  of  our  scholars. 

"We  have  now  thirty-eight  classes,  with  more  than  three  hun- 
dred and  fifty  enrolled  members,  whose  ages  range  from  four  to 
over  seventy  years.  We  meet  (as  we  have  done  for  the  last  seven- 
teen years  without  the  omission  of  a  single  session)  at  9.15  on  the 
morning  of  each  Lord's  day. 

"  We  should  be  very  happy  to  welcome  you  back  to  our  school, 
and  I  take  the  liberty  of  sending  you  this  special  invitation  to  re- 
new your  connection  with  us. 

"May  I  not  hope  to  see  you  in  our  pleasant  chapel  on  Sunday, 
January  3,  1875 ;  and  will  you  not  commence  the  new  year  by 
uniting  with  us  again  in  the  study  of  God's  holy  word? 

'"  'Come  thou  with  us,  and  we  will  do  thee  good.' 
"Truly  yours, 

"HENRY  P.  HAVEN,  Superintendent." 

A  similar  appeal  was  made  at  the  same  time  to 
members  of  the  congregation  who  had  not  been 
members  of  the  Sunday-school,  with  this  opening 
sentence :  "  As  you  are  a  member  of  our  congre- 
gation, but  are  not  on  our  Sunday-school  records, 
I  take  the  liberty  of  extending  to  you,  on  this  an- 
niversary day  of  the  birth  of  our  Lord  and  Sav- 
iour Jesus  Christ,  a  kind  and  cordial  invitation  to 
unite  with  our  school  and  join  us  on  the  morning 
of  the  Christian  Sabbath  in  our  worship  and  Bible 
study." 


SECTION  IV. 
Methods 
and  Helps. 


Come  back 
to  us. 


Be  one  of  us. 


A  Model  Superintendent. 


SECTION  IV, 
Methods 
and  Help?. 


Admission 
Certificates. 


Reward 
Certificates 


With  so  close  attention  paid  to  the  school  rec- 
ords, no  scholar  could  enter  or  leave  the  school 
without  being  noticed  —  without  being  made  to 
realize  that  his  coming  or  going  was  a  fact  note- 
worthy to  him  and  to  the  school.  For  a  series  of 
years,  if  not  always,  each  scholar,  on  entering  the 
school  as  a  member,  received  an  "Admission  Cer- 
tificate," with  its  record  of  the  fact  and  the  date 
of  his  admission,  and  with  a  series  of  suggestions 
concerning  his  duties  as  a  scholar,  including  such 
points  as  these : 

"  I  must  be  at  school  in  good  time  every  Sunday." 

"  When  I  reach  the  school,  I  must  go  directly  in,  and  Avalk  soft- 
ly to  my  seat." 

"During  prayer  I  must  reverently  bow  my  head,  close  my  eyes, 
fold  my  arms,  and  sit  perfectly  still." 

"  If  I  know  of  any  of  my  schoolmates  who  are  sick  or  in  desti- 
tute circumstances,  I  must  at  once  inform  my  teacher  or  the  su- 
perintendent." 

"I  must  try  to  persuade  my  parents  and  friends  to  accompany 
me  to  church  and  to  the  Sunday-evening  meetings." 

.•  These  certificates  were,  in  some  instances,  framed 
and  displayed  in  the  scholars'  homes;  ordinarily 
they  were  carefully  preserved ;  always  they  were 
an  evidence  that  the  scholars  had  been  received 
into  the  school-membership,  and  had  duties  towards 
the  school  growing  out  of  their  connection  with 
it ;  duties  also  towards  God,  towards  their  parents, 
and  towards  their  companions. 

At  the  same  time  a  "  Keward  Certificate "  was 


At  Special  /Services. 


77 


issued  to  each  scholar  who  "  introduced  to  the 
Christian  fellowship  of  that  Sunday-school  an  out- 
side companion  to  be  enrolled  as  a  member.  And 
when  a  scholar  left  the  school  he  received  a  "  Dis- 
missal Certificate,"  as  follows : 


THIS  CERTIFIES  that  James  Wilson  has  been  for  two 
years  a  regular  member  of  the  Sunday  school  of  the  Second 
Congregational  Church;  and,  desiring  a  dismission  from  it, 
he  is  cordially  recommended  by  the  superintendent,  teach- 
ers, and  pupils  of  said  school  to  the  care  and  kindness  of 
those  who  love  the  Shepherd  and  his  lambs. 

Henry  P.  Haven,  Superintendent. 

NEW  LONDON,  CONN.,  January  3,  1856. 


There  were  many  other  ways  in  which  the  rec- 
ords of  the  school  were  made  to  tell  on  the  prog- 
ress of  the  school.  Lists  were  made  and  printed 
from  time  to  time  of  those  classes  which  stood 
highest  in  their  punctuality  of  attendance ;  of 
teachers  and  scholars  who  deserved  honorable 
mention  for  being  present  over  forty  Sundays 
in  a  year;  of  the  class-offerings  into  the  Lord's 
treasury ;  and  of  the  aggregates  and  averages  of 
the  benevolent  contributions  year  by  year.  In- 
deed, it  can  be  said  confidently  that  no  time  was 
better  improved  by  Mr.  Haven  for  the  welfare  of 
his  New  London  Sunday-school  than  the  Monday- 
morning  hour  passed  by  him  among  its  records. 


SECTION  IV. 

Methods 

and  Helps. 


Dismission 

Certificates. 


78 


A  Model  /Superintendent. 


SECTION  IV. 
Methods 
mid  Helps. 


Linking  the 
services. 


Preaching 
to  children. 


AT    SPECIAL    SERVICES. 

A  good  Sunday-school  will  not  be  limited  in 
its  services  to  its  weekly  sessions  for  Bible  study. 
It  will  rather  make  those  sessions  a  centre  about 
which  shall  cluster  various  services  with  a  com- 
mon spirit  and  a  common  aim.  If  the  Sunday- 
school  had  no  other  services  than  those  of  its  reg- 
ular sessions,  there  might  be  a  danger  of  its  be- 
coming to  its  members  a  substitute  for  the  sanc- 
tuary services  of  the  congregation.  But  by  well- 
planned  special  services  the  school  sessions  may 
be  attractively  linked  with  the  other  church  ser- 
vices, so  that  those  who  are  in  the  one  will  come 
to  want  a  share  in  the  other. 

Mr.  Haven  was  as  wise  and  felicitous  in  the 
arranging  and  conducting  of  a  system  of  special 
services  for  his  Sunday-schools  as  in  any  other 
department  of  the  superintendent's  work.  For 
years  his  city  school  was  gathered  one  Sunday 
evening  in  the  month  in  the  church  audience- 
room,  to  be  preached  to  by  the  pastor  and  to 
have  a  share  in  fitting  exercises  of  worship.  In 
this  way  the  scholars  came  to  enjoy  hearing  a 
sermon  and  worshipping  with  the  congregation. 
They  learned,  also,  to  know  and  love  their  pastor 
as  a  preacher ;  and  his  words  of  invitation  to 
them  to  be  present  and  hear  him  at  the  other 
services  came  with  tenfold  power  in  consequence. 


The  Sunday-school  Concert. 


79 


This  was  a  better  way  of  handling  the  question 
whether  the  Sunday-school  keeps  children  away 
from  other  church  services  than  by  complaining, 
on  the  one  hand,  that  the  teachers  do  not  insist  on 
their  scholars  attending  those  services ;  or  by  de- 
claring, on  the  other,  that  children  cannot  be  made 
to  enjoy  pulpit  preaching  and  sanctuary  worship. 
Another  link  between  the  Sunday-school  ses- 
sion and  the  sanctuary  service  which  Mr.  Haven 
valued  was  the  monthly  Sunday-school  concert. 
This  was  originally  a  concert,  or  union,  of  prayer 
and  conference  concerning  the  Sunday-school, 
fashioned  after  the  monthly  concert  of  prayer 
for  missions ;  but  gradually  it  came  to  be  a  spe- 
cial service  of  the  Sunday-school,  rather  than  for 
the  Sunday-school,  with  exercises  of  worship  in 
which  the  children  bore  a  part,  with  recitations 
of  Scripture  by  teachers  and  scholars  on  a  pre- 
viously assigned  topic,  and  with  addresses  to  the 
school  by  the  superintendent  and  others.  These 
concerts  were  kept  up  by  Mr.  Haven  for  many 
years,  in  both  his  Sunday-schools,  with  excellent 
judgment  on  his  part,  and  in  great  variety.  One 
of  his  pastors  (the  Rev.  Dr.  Willcox)  says  of  Mr. 
Haven  on  this  point,  "  He  was  not,  like  many 
men  of  methodical  habits,  dry  and  monotonous 
in  his  modes  of  thought  and  action.  He  had  a 
wonderful  power  of  invention.  No  two  Sunday- 
school  concerts  under  his  direction  resembled  each 


SECTION  IV. 
Methods 
aiid  Hdps. 


Orijrin  of 
the  Sunday- 
school  cou- 
cert. 


80 


A  Model  Superintendent. 


SECTION  IV 
Methods 
nud  Helps. 


No  clap- 
trap. 


Fire ! 


other.  Sometimes  the  teachers  would  have  the 
chief  part  in  the  service,  then  the  older  scholars, 
and  again  the  little  ones.  Now  the  rivers  of  the 
Bible  were  to  be  sought  out,  and  sacred  lessons 
drawn  from  them  ;  now  the  mountains,  the  build- 
ings, the  gardens;  the  heroic  men,  the  noble  wom- 
en ;  the  bad  men,  the  bad  women,  and  so  on.  With 
all  his  variety,  however,  he  never  went  beyond  the 
Scriptures.  He  abhorred  dialogues  and  spoken 
'pieces  and  solo  performances,  and  all  the  theatri- 
cal clap-trap  by  which  a  crowd  is  often  drawn  to 
a  Sunday-school  concert." 

There  was  a  due  regard  to  the  timeliness  of 
topics  selected  by  Mr.  Haven  for  the  concert  rec- 
itations. Christmas  and  Easter,  and  Thanksgiv- 
ing and  New-year's  and  the  Fourth  of  July,  would 
each  be  borne  in  mind  in  its  turn  ;  and  particular 
events  would  also  have  their  influence  in  shaping 
the  character  of  these  special  services.  For  ex- 
ample, the  month  after  the  New  London  church 
was  destroyed  by  fire,  in  1867.  the  concert  theme 
was  "  Fire."  Fifteen  kinds  of  fire,  or  fifteen  dif- 
ferent purposes  of  fire,  were  brought  out  in  Bible 
recitations  by  thirty  of  the  scholars ;  and  the  uses 
of  fire  in  purifying  and  destroying  and  cheering, 
and  in  other  operations,  were  considered  by  the 
school.  All  this  had  its  important  place  in  the 
training  processes  of  the  school,  as  well  as  in  in- 
creasino-  the  school  attractiveness. 


Concert  Exercises. 


81 


A  few  illustrations  from  these  concert  recita- 
tions and  other  special  services  will  show  their 
nature  better  than  any  description  can. 

There  was  a  simple  concert  exercise  on  "Val- 
leys and  Vineyards  of  the  Bible."  Each  member 
of  the  school  was  asked  to  be  ready  with  a  Bible 
verse  containing  a  word  beginning  with  the  letter 
V,  to  recite  it  as  called  on.  The  first  Scripture 
reading  was  of  Psalm  civ,  read  responsively.  Then 
came  this  series  of  questions  by  the  superintend- 
ent on  Bible  Valleys,  answered  by  classes  to  which 
the  questions  had  been  previously  assigned : 

"  1.  What  prophet  was  buried  in  a  valley  ?  What  reference  to 
this  burial  is  made  in  the  New  Testament  ? 

"  2.  Name  four  valleys  in  which  great  battles  were  fought. 

"3.  What  valley  was  laden  with  very  rich  fruit? 

"  4.  Name  a  valley  in  which  a  man  was  stoned  to  death.  What 
prophet  alludes  to  it  ? 

"5.  In  what  valley  did  the  sun  and  moon  stand  still? 

"6.  Who  was  slain  in  the  valley  of  Elah? 

"7.  Recite  a  beautiful  verse  in  which  departure  from  life  is 
compared  to  entering  a  valley. 

"8.  In  what  valley  did  Ahaz  burn  incense? 

"9.  What  does  Solomon  say  shall  come  upon  him  who  mock- 
eth  his  father  and  despiseth  his  mother? 

"  10.  Recite  a  beautiful  verse  in  which  the  lily  of  the  valley  and 
another  flower  are  mentioned." 

The  superintendent  read  John  xv,  1-8,  on  "  The 
True  Vine  and  its  Branches."  This  was  followed 
by  a  series  of  questions  and  answers  on  "  Bible 
Vineyards :" 


SFOTTON  IV. 
Methods 
and  Ilelps. 


Bible 

Valleys. 


Bible 
Vineyards. 


A  Model  /Superintendent. 


SECTION  IV. 
Methods 
and  Helps,  j 


Bible  words 

about 

prayer. 


"  1.  What  is  the  first  vineyard  mentioned  in  Scripture? 

"2.  Whose  vineyard  did  a  king  wish  to  turn  into  a  garden? 
What  sins  followed  the  king's  indulgence  of  his  desire? 

"3.  Who  was  forbidden  to  own  any  vineyard? 

'•'  4.  Mention  some  vineyards  pledged  to  pay  for  corn  ? 

"  5.  Name  three  New  Testament  parables  which  refer  to  vine- 
yards ? 

"6.  Where  is  a  neglected  vineyard  made  an  emblem  of  sloth? 

" 7.  Where  is  a  church  compared  to  a  vineyard? 

"8.  When  did  an  angel  stand  in  the  path  of  a  vineyard? 

"9.  Who  gave  vineyards  to  the  poor  among  the  Jews  in  the  time 
of  the  Captivity  ? 

"10.  Who  had  charge  of  David's  vineyards?" 

Appropriate  hymns  were  sung  and  prayers  of- 
fered in  the  progress  of  this  exercise,  as  in  all  his 
services. 

Again,  the  concert  theme  was  "  Bible  Teachings 
on  Prayer."  There  were  recitations  of  assigned 
texts  by  designated  classes,  as  called  for,  under  the 
following  heads : 


Private  Prayer. 
Matt,  vi,  6. 
Psa.  xxxii,  5. 
Psa.  li,  1. 
Acts  x,  1,  2. 
Neh.  i,  4. 


Family  Prayer. 

1  Chron.  xvii,  27. 
Psa.  xc,  16. 

2  Sam.  vii,  29. 
Jer.  x,  25. 


Social  Prayer. 
Matt,  xviii,  19. 
Zech.  viii,  20,  21. 
Acts  i,  14. 
Acts  xii,  5. 


2  Sam.  vi,  20  (1  st  cl).     Acts  xvi,  25. 


Public  Prayer. 
I  Kings  viii,  22. 
1  Kings  viii,  30. 
Numb,  x,  35,  36. 
1  Cliron.  xxix,  20. 
Acts  iii,  1. 


Silent  Prayer. 
Jer.  ii,  4. 
1  Sam.  i,  12, 13. 
Ephes.  vi,  18. 
1  Thess.  v,  1 7. 
Coloss.  i,  9. 


A  Missionary  /Service. 


83 


Again,  there  were  arranged  concert  exercises 
on  Moses,  on  David,  on  Elijah,  on  the  Titles  of 
Jesus,  on  the  Sayings  of  Jesus,  on  the  Sermon 
on  the  Mount,  on  the  Companions  of  St.  Paul,  on 
Thanksgiving,  on  Bible  Cities,  and  on  many  an- 
other theme. 

Every  anniversary  service  had  its  peculiar 
stamp,  with  its  Scripture  selections  and  hymns 
and  addresses  appropriate  to  that  particular  oc- 
casion. Often  it  pivoted  on  a  Bible  text  as  a 
motto,  such  as  "  Hitherto  hath  the  Lord  helped 
us ;"  "  The  Lord  hath  been  mindful  of  us ;" 
"  Hear,  O  my  son,  and  receive  my  sayings,  and 
the  years  of  thy  life  shall  be  many ;"  "  Thou 
shalt  remember  all  the  way  which  the  Lord  thy 
God  led  thee  these  forty  years."  At  each  annual 
meeting  of  the  "  Henry  Martyn  Missionary  Asso- 
ciation" there  was  a  carefully  arranged  series  of 
responsive  readings  at  the  opening,  as,  for  in- 
stance : 

Leader.  Go  ye  into  all  the  world,  and  preach  the  gospel  to 
every  creature. 

Congregation.  The  Lord  our  God  will  we  serve,  and  his  voice 
will  we  obey. 

Leader.  Give  and  it  shall  be  given  unto  you. 

Congregation.  Since  the  people  began  to  bring  the  offerings  into 
the  house  of  the  Lord,  the  Lord  hath  blessed  his  people. 

Leader.  Only  they  would  that  we  should  remember  the  poor. 

Congregation.  The  same  which  I  also  was  forward  to  do. 

Leader.  Bear  ye  one  another's  burdens,  and  so  fulfil  the  law  of 
Christ. 


SECTION  IV. 
Methods 
and  Helps. 


Anniversa- 
ry themes. 


Bible  words 

about 

giving. 


84 


A  Model  Superintendent. 


SECTION  IV. 
Methods 
and  Helps. 


Christmas 
offerings. 


Congregation.  All  that  thou  commandest  us  we  will  do,  and 
whithersoever  thou  sendest  us  we  will  go. 

Leader.  There  is  that  scattereth  and  yet  increaseth. 

Congregation.  And  there  is  that  withholdeth  more  than  is  meet, 
and  it  tendetli  to  poverty. 

Leader.  The  liberal  soul  shall  be  made  fat. 

Congregation.  And  he  that  watereth  shall  be  watered  also  himself. 

Leader.  The  blessing  of  the  Lord,  it  maketh  rich. 

Congregation.  And  he  addeth  no  sorrow  with  it. 

In  connection  with  the  Christmas  offerings  of 
the  Kew  London  school  there  were  always  appro- 
priate religious  services,  in  order  that  the  giving 
might  be  recognized  as  unto  the  Lord.  For  ex- 
ample, when  this  was  first  attempted  a  full  order 
of  service  was  arranged.  It  opened  with  these 
sentences : 

Superintendent.  God  so  loved  the  world  that  he  gave  his  only- 
begotten  Son,  that  whosoever  believeth  in  him  should  not  perish, 
but  have  everlasting  life. 

Assistant  Superintendent.  He  that  spared  not  his  own  Son,  but 
delivered  him  up  for  us  all,  how  shall  he  not  with  him  also  freely 
give  us  all  things. 

School.  Every  good  gift  and  every  perfect  gift  is  from  above, 
and  cometh  down  from  the  Father  of  lights,  with  whom  is  no 
variableness,  neither  shadow  of  turning. 

The  superintendent  read,  from  Mark  xii,  41-44, 
the  story  of  the  widow  and  her  two  mites,  after 
which  the  assistant  superintendent  said  to  the 
school : 

Freely  ye  have  received,  freely  give. 


No  Gifts  to  Scholars. 


85 


The  school  responded : 

He  which  soweth  sparingly  shall  reap  also  sparingly ;  and  he 
which  soweth  bountifully  shall  reap  also  bountifully. 

Singing  and  prayer  were  followed  by  Bible  rec- 
itations from  the  several  divisions  of  the  school, 
in  response  to  questions  from  the  superintendent 
concerning  the  offerings  of  God's  people  from  the 
days  of  Abel  onward.  While  the  collection  of 
offerings  was  being  made,  the  superintendent  re- 
cited appropriate  Bible  texts.  When  the  offer- 
ings were  all  received,  there  was  a  special  prayer 
for  their  acceptance  by  God.  Then  there  was  a 
service  of  praise  and  thanksgiving,  including  re- 
sponsive Bible  readings,  followed  by  singing,  and 
concluding  with  the  Gloria  Patri. 

After  six  years'  experience  of  this  form  of 
Christmas  service,  Mr.  Haven  wrote,  not  long  be- 
fore his  death :  "  The  success  of  the  experiment 
in  our  church-school  has  convinced  me  that  in  all 
ordinary  Sunday-schools  connected  with  churches, 
where  a  large  proportion  of  the  children  are  pro- 
vided with  Christmas  presents  at  home,  something 
of  this  kind  is  a  most  excellent  thing.  We  usu- 
ally have,  about  Xew-year's,  a  social  gathering  in 
our  chapel,  under  the  auspices  of  our  Sunday- 
school,  but  where  all  the  congregation  is  invited. 
We  spend  the  evening  socially,  and  have  some  re- 
freshments. Our  school  some  years  has  a  social 
gathering  in  the  woods  in  August.  We  have, 


SECTION  IV. 
Methods 
and  Helps. 


Giving  bet- 
ter thmi  re- 
ceiving. 


86 


A  Model  Superintendent. 


SECTION  IV 
Methods 
and  Helps. 


Quarterly 
reviews. 


Review 

questioning. 


however,  nothing  in  the  course  of  the  year  in  the 
line  of  gifts  to  the  scholars;  and  I  am  fully  per- 
suaded that,  in  the  ordinary  church  -  school,  the 
whole  system  of  presents  to  scholars  is  unwise 
and  injurious." 

After  the  introduction  of  the  International  Les- 
son Series,  quarterly  review  exercises  came  into 
new  prominence  in  Mr.  Haven's  schools.  In  these 
an  examination  of  the  lessons  of  the  quarter  was 
frequently  combined  with  a  service  appropriate  to 
the  particular  season — as  an  Easter  service  at  the 
close  of  the  first  quarter  of  the  year,  a  Christmas 
service  at  the  close  of  the  fourth  quarter,  or  a 
praise  service  at  the  close  of  the  second  or  third 
quarter.  In  every  instance  a  carefully  arranged 
programme,  or  order  of  service,  was  announced 
beforehand,  usually  printed  and  distributed  to  the 
school  as  early  as  a  week  in  advance  ;  and  the 
same  form  was  never  used  a  second  time  in  these 
orders  of  service. 

There  was  freshness  in  the  plan  and  style  of 
Mr.  Haven's  review  questioning,  as  a  reference  to 
the  exercises  of  his  half-yearly  review,  in  the  New 
London  school,  of  the  lessons  in  St.  John's  Gospel, 
at  the  close  of  1875,  will  illustrate.  The  superin- 
tendent in  the  desk  gave,  in  their  order,  the  dates 
of  the  lessons  severally.  The  secretaries  and  li- 
brarians followed  with  the  lesson  titles,  one  by . 
one,  as  the  dates  were  announced.  The  teachers, 


Methods  of  Review. 


87 


in  unison,  recited  in  the  same  way  the  lesson  top- 
ics. The  scholars  similarly  gave  the  golden  texts. 
Then  there  were  such  questions  as  the  following 
from  the  desk,  each  to  be  answered  by  the  school 
in  concert,  in  the  words  of  the  golden  text  indi- 
cated :  "  Which  golden  text  contains  a  promise  of 
another  life?"  "Which  includes  a  prayer  of  Da- 
vid ?"  "  Which  refers  to  the  first  miracle  of  Je- 
sus?" "Which  uses  a  beautiful  figure  for  relig- 
ion?" A  call  was  made  on  the  classes,  one  by 
one,  to  recite  in  concert  some  noteworthy  verse, 
selected  beforehand  out  of  the  lesson  designated. 
The  classes  in  the  first  row  of  seats  were  to  choose 
from  the  July  lessons ;  those  in  the  second  row, 
from  August,  and  so  on  through  the  six  months. 
These  classes  were  then  to  answer,  in  the  same 
order,  questions  on  the  lessons  proppunded  by  the 
superintendent :  as,  for  example,  "  Which  lesson 
gives  a  command  of  an  eminent  saint  which  we 
should  ever  remember  ?"  "  In  which  lesson  do 
you  find  Jesus  asking  a  favor  of  a  stranger  ?" 
"  What  brief  command  that  Jesus  gave  his  disci- 
ples is  twice  repeated  in  one  lesson  ?"  Following 
this  review  exercise  there  was  a  Christmas  service 
of  responsive  readings  and  recitations,  singing, 
and  chanting,  and  an  offering  of  Christmas  gifts 
for  the  benefit  of  members  of  the  church  who 
were  formerly  members  of  the  Sunday-school, 
but,  from  sickness  or  other  cause,  were  now  in 


SF.OTION  IV. 
Methods 
and  Help*. 


Noteworthy 


Christmas 
service. 


A  Model  Superintendent. 


SECTION  IV, 
Methods 
and  Helps. 


A  new 
building. 


Words  of 
dedication. 


need  of  assistance.      And  this  was  one  of  many 
methods  in  Mr.  Haven's  review  exercises. 

No  occasion  of  importance  to  his  schools  was 
allowed  by  Mr.  Haven  to  pass  unimproved  by  ap- 
propriate recognition  in  the  ordinary  school  ses- 
sions, or  at  some  special  service  arranged  therefor. 
When  a  new  building  was  to  be  occupied  by  his 
New  London  school,  it  was  not  enough  that  its 
dedication  should  be  included  in  that  of  the 
church — a  special  service  of  dedication  must  be 
conducted  in  the  chapel  and  Sunday-school  rooms. 
In  conjunction  with  fitting  exercises  of  prayer 
and  praise,  including  responsive  readings  and  rec- 
itations from  the  Scriptures  and  the  singing  of  an 
original  dedication -hymn,  these  words  of  dedica- 
tion were  employed.  The  superintendent's  decla- 
ration was : 

"  CHRISTIAN  FRIENDS, — Our  Heavenly  Father,  in  all  ages  of 
the  Church,  hath  indicated  by  express  command,  or  by  after-ap- 
proval, his  desire  that  those  who  love  him  and  fear  his  name 
should  erect  altars  and  houses  of  worship,  where  his  people  should 
gather  together  for  the  service  he  hath  appointed  in  his  holy  word. 

"Forasmuch  as  he  hath  put  it  into  the  heart  of  his  servants  to 
erect  this  house,  an  outer  court  in  the  temple  of  our  God,  we  have 
assembled  together  this' afternoon  to  dedicate  it  by  proper  acts  of 
religious  devotion  to  the  honor  and  glory  of  his  name,  to  his  ser- 
vice and  worship,  and  to  the  advancement  of  his  kingdom  in  the 
earth." 

At  this  point  the  entire  congregation  rose,  and 
all  in  concert  declared  : 


System  and  Consecration. 


89 


"With  gratitude  to  thee,  Almighty  God,  Father,  Son,  and  Holy 
Ghost,  who  didst  inspire  thy  servants  with  a  holy  desire  to  build 
this  house,  we  now  and  here  dedicate  it  to  thy  service;  and  we 
pray  thee  to  accept  this  our  free-will  offering,  which  we  now  bring 
unto  thee,  humbly  beseeching  thee  that  thou  wilt  consecrate  it  as 
a  house  of  social  prayer  and  holy  song,  and  for  the  teaching  of  thy 
word  in  Christian  schools  on  the  Lord's  day. 

"May  it  please  thee  to  bless  with  thy  loving  favor  all  thy  faith- 
ful servants  as  they  gather  here  to  sing  thy  praise,  to  call  upon  thy 
name,  to  talk  of  thy  love,  and  to  teach  thy  word ;  and  may  thy 
special  blessing  rest  upon  all  who  here  shall  study  the  pages  of  thy 
holy  truth,  that  they  may  grow  dp  as  plants  of  righteousness  in  the 
courts  of  the  house  of  the  Lord.  May  thine  eyes  be  open  to  the 
supplications  of  thy  people,  and  hearken  thou  unto  them  at  all 
times  when  they  here  call  upon  thee.  Blessed  be  the  God  and 
Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who  hath  blessed  us  with  all  spir- 
itual blessings  in  heavenly  places  in  Christ." 

Those  who  had  part  in  that  service  of  dedica- 
tion could  not  but  feel  thenceforward  that  that 
was  the  Lord's  house,  and  that  reverence  was  be- 
fitting all  the  exercises  which  should  be  conduct- 
ed within  its  walls.  And  in  such  ways  Mr.  Ha- 
ven made  all  the  special  services  in  connection 
with  his  Sunday-schools  tend  to  promote  a  love 
for  God's  house,  God's  day,  and  God's  word,  on 
the  part  of  both  teachers  and  scholars. 

And  so  in  all  that  he  did  for  his  Sunday-schools, 
and  in  the  use  of  all  methods  and  helps  which  he 
employed — whether  in  the  study,  with  his  teach- 
ers, in  the  desk,  with  his  scholars,  among  the  rec- 
ords, or  at  special  services  —  Mr.  Haven  was  sys- 


SECTION  IV. 
Methods 
and  HelpH. 


Reverence 
promoted. 


System  and 
consecra- 
tion. 


90 


A  Model  /Superintendent. 


SUCTION  IV. 
Methods 
and  Helps. 


Straight 
forward. 


tematic,  thorough,  and  consecrated  ;  a  workman 
that  needed  not  to  be  ashamed,  rightly  dividing 
the  word  of  truth,  doing  all  heartily  as  to  the 
Lord,  and  not  unto  men.  With  all  the  diversity 
of  operations  in  his  school  methods,  there  was 
"  one  and  the  self-same  Spirit "  guiding  and  con- 
trolling the  whole.  "With  all  the  wheels  within 
wheels  in  his  school  machinery,  "  the  spirit  of  the 
living  creature  was  in  the  wheels."  And  "  to  the 
place  whither  the  head  looked  they  followed  it ; 
they  turned  not  as  they  wrent."  "  They  went 
every  one  straight  forward." 


Religion  and  Business. 


91 


V. 

BUSINESS  ACTIVITIES. 

Religion  and  Business;  Whale  Fisheries;  Sea- Elephant  Hunting; 
Guano  Gathering ;  Seal  Catching ;  Polar  Researches ;  Rail- 
roading and  Banking. 

THERE  are  many,  especially  among  those  who 
take  no  part  in  religions  activities,  who  insist  that 
a  man  cannot  be  successful  in  ordinary  secular 
business  if  he  gives  any  considerable  share  of  his 
time  to  strictly  religious  employments.  "He  must 
stick  to  one  thing  or  the  other!"  they  say;  as  if  it 
were  actually  a  choice  between  God  and  mammon ; 
as  if  secular  occupations  were  in  necessary  conflict 
with  religious  devotion ;  as  if  no  man  could  be 
"fervent  in  spirit"  while  "not  slothful  in  busi- 
ness" —"serving  the  Lord"  seven  days  in  the 
week. 

It  would  be  a  sad  thing  for  the  Sunday-school 
if  this  view  of  the  case  were  correct ;  if  only  men 
who  do  little  or  nothing  week-days  —  or  who  do 
their  week-day  work  poorly — were  eligible  to  the 
Sunday-school  superintendency ;  for  a  man  who 
fails  in  one  department  of  his  life  work  is  least 
likely  to  succeed  in  another.  As  a  matter  of  fact, 

7 


SECTION  V. 
Business 

Activities. 


Week-day 
workers 
needed  in 
the  Sunday- 
school. 


92 


A  Model  Superintendent. 


SECTION  V. 
Business 
Activities. 


Faithful 
alike  in 
religion  and 
business. 


those  Christian  men  who  do  most  work,  and  who 
do  it  best,  six  days  in  the  week,  are  found  to  be 
most  serviceable  in  the  Sunday-school  on  the  sev- 
enth day.  Peculiarly  is  it  true  that  administrative 
and  executive  abilities  of  a  high  order  are  essential 
to  a  model  superintendent.  R.  G.  Pardee  used  to 
say  that  a  Christian  railroad  superintendent  could 
usually  superintend  a  Sunday -school  satisfactorily; 
for  similar  qualifications  are  needed  in  the  two 
spheres.  It  is  unmistakably  true  that  in  our  cities 
and  larger  towns  throughout  the  country  the  most 
efficient  Sunday-school  superintendents  include 
in  their  number  some  of  the  leading  merchants, 
manufacturers,  bankers,  insurance  officers,  and  rail- 
road men  of  their  several  communities. 

Let  us  see  how  it  was  with  Mr.  Haven.  We 
know  he  was  active  in  religious  employments. 
Did  he  neglect  his  secular  business,  or  show  him- 
self inefficient  therein?  We  saw  how  he  began 
work  as  a  zealous,  ambitious  lad  in  the  ship-own- 
er's office.  It  may  be  said  with  truth  that  to  the 
day  of  his  death  he  seemingly  never  had  less  in- 
terest in  any  secular  business  to  which  he  had  set 
his  hand  than  he  showed  as  a  young  clerk  while 
toiling  away  until  after  midnight,  only  to  be  back 
at  his  desk  before  daylight,  to  do  the  utmost  pos- 
sible to  him  there.  Whatsoever  he  had  to  do, 
week-day  or  Sunday,  in  one  sphere  or  in  another, 
he  did  it  "with  all  his  might;"  he  did  it  as  the 


Whale  Fisheries. 


93 


Lord's  servant  who  must  shortly  give  account  to 
his  Master.  This  kind  of  doing  always  brings 
success — it  is  success. 

The  special  business  of  Major  Williams's  ship- 
ping-house, where  young  Haven  began  life  as  a 
clerk,  was  the  whale  and  seal  fishery.  This  busi- 
ness combined  the  elements  of  adventure  and  dar- 
ing with  possibilities  and  uncertainties  of  result 
to  a  greater  degree  than  almost  any  other  pursuit 
of  industry  in  our  early  American  life.  It  called 
for  courage  and  energy  on  the  part  of  those  who 
braved  its  dangers,  and  for  sagacity,  resoluteness, 
and  enterprise  on  the  part  of  those  who  were  its 
directors.  This  was,  perhaps,  the  first  business  in 
which  Americans  commanded  the  admiration  of 
the  mother  country  for  their  enterprising  and  dar- 
ing, and  gave  promise  of  their  present  ubiquitous 
prominence  as  explorers  and  pioneers,  and  as  com- 
petitors for  the  supremacy  in  supplying  the  mar- 
kets of  the  world.  This  industry  it  was  which 
called  forth  the  splendid  tribute  of  Edmund  Burke, 
in  his  speech  in  the  British  Parliament  for  the  con- 
ciliation of  the  American  colonies.  "  Look,"  he 
said,  "at  the  manner  in  which  the  people  of  New 
England  have  of  late  carried  on  the  whale  fishery. 
Whilst  we  follow  them  among  the  tumbling  moun- 
tains of  ice,  and  behold  them  penetrating  into  the 
deepest  frozen  recesses  of  Hudson's  Bay  and 
Davis's  Strait ;  whilst  we  are  looking  for  them 


SECTION  V. 
Business 
Activities. 


Adventure 
aud  daring. 


Edmund 
Bnrke's 

tribute. 


A  Model  Superintendent. 


SECTION  V. 
Business 
Activities. 


A  century 
later. 


beneath  the  Arctic  circle,  we  hear  that  they  have 
pierced  into  the  opposite  region  of  polar  cold;  that 
they  are  at  the  antipodes,  and  engaged  under  the 
frozen  serpent  of  the  South.  Falkland  Island, 
which  seemed  too  remote  and  romantic  an  object 
for  the  grasp  of  national  ambition,  is  but  a  stage 
and  a  resting-place  in  the  progress  of  their  victo- 
rious industry.  Nor  is  the  equinoctial  heat  more 
discouraging  to  them  than  the  accumulated  winter 
of  both  the  poles.  We  know  that  whilst  some 
of  them  draw  the  line  and  strike  the  harpoon 
on  the  coast  of  Africa,  others  run  the  longitude, 
and  pursue  their  gigantic  game  along  the  coast  of 
Brazil.  No  sea  but  what  is  vexed  by  their  fish- 
eries. No  climate  that  is  not  witness  to  their  toils. 
Neither  the  perseverance  of  Holland,  nor  the  ac- 
tivity of  France,  nor  the  dexterous  and  firm  sagac- 
ity of  English  enterprise,  ever  conceived  this  most 
perilous  mode  of  hardy  industry  to  the  extent  to 
which  it  has  been  pushed  by  this  recent  people;  a 
people  who  are  still,  as  it  were,  but  in  the  gristle, 
and  not  yet  hardened  into  the  bone  of  manhood." 

A  century  after  these  words  of  the  British  states- 
man, an  historian  of  the  American  whale  fisheries* 
said  of  the  same  industry  and  its  influences: 

"The  pioneers  of  the  sea,  whalemen,  were  the  ad- 
vance guard,  the  forlorn  hope,  of  civilization.  Ex- 

*  Alexander  Starbuck  in  "Report  of  the  United  States  Commis- 
sion of  Fish  and  Fisheries  fur  1875-7G." 


Whaling  Enterprise. 


05 


ploring  expeditions  followed  after  to  glean  where 
they  had  reaped.  In  the  frozen  seas  of  the  Xorth 
and  the  South  their  keels  ploughed  to  the  extreme 
limit  of  navigation,  and  between  the  tropics  they 
pursued  their  prey  through  regions  never  before 
traversed  by  the  vessels  of  a  civilized  commu- 
nity. .  .  .  Many  a  tale  of  danger  and  toil  and  suf- 
fering, startling,  severe,  and  horrible,  has  illumined 
the  pages  of  the  history  of  this  pursuit,  and  scarce 
any,  even  the  humblest,  of  these  hardy  mariners, 
but  can  from  his  own  experience  narrate  truths 
stranger  than  fiction.  In  many  ports,  among  hun- 
dreds of  islands,  on  many  seas,  the  flag  of  the 
country  from  which  they  sailed  was  first  displayed 
from  the  masthead  of  a  whale-ship.  Pursuing  their 
avocation  wherever  a  chance  presented,  the  Ameri- 
can flag  was  first  unfurled  in  an  English  port  from 
the  deck  of  an  American  whaleman,  and  the  ports 
of  the  western  coast  of  South  America  first  beheld 
the  stars  and  stripes  shown  as  the  standard  of  an- 
other. It  may  be  safely  alleged  that,  but  for  them, 
the  western  oceans  would  much  longer  have  been 
comparatively  unknown  ;  and  with  equal  truth  it 
may  be  said  that  whatever  of  honor  or  glory  the 
United  States  may  have  won  in  its  explorations  of 
these  oceans,  the  necessity  for  their  explorations 
was  a  tribute  wrung  from  the  government,  though 
not  without  earnest  and  continued  effort,  to  the  in- 
terests of  our  mariners,  who  for  years  before  had 


SKOTION  V. 

liilMlir-- 

Activitief. 


National 
services. 


A  Model  Superintendent. 


SECTION  V. 
Business 

Activities. 


Missionary 
openings. 


Discoveries. 


pursued  the  whale  in  these  uncharted  seas,  and 
threaded  their  way  with  extremest  care  among 
these  undescribed  islands,  reefs,  and  shoals.  Into 
the  field  opened  by  them  flowed  the  trade  of  the 
civilized  world.  In  their  footsteps  followed  Chris- 
tianity. They  introduced  the  missionary  to  new 
spheres  of  usefulness,  and  made  his  presence  tena- 
ble. Says  a  writer  in  the  London  Quarterly  Re- 
view: 'The  whale  fishery  first  opened  to  Great 
Britain  a  beneficial  intercourse  with  the  coast  of 
Spanish  America;  it  led.  in  the  sequel,  to  the  in- 
dependence of  the  Spanish  colonies.  .  .  .  But  for 
our  whalers  we  might  never  have  founded  our 
colonies  in  Yan  Diemen's  Land  and  Australia;  or, 
if  we  had,  we  could  not  have  maintained  them  in 
their  early  stages  of  danger  and  privation.  More- 
over, our  intimacy  with  the  Polynesians  must  be 
traced  to  the  same  source.  The  whalers  were  the 
first  that  traded  in  that  quarter;  they  prepared  the 
field  for  the  missionaries;  and  the  same  thing  is  now 
in  progress  in  New  Ireland,  New  Britain,  and  New 
Zealand.'  All  that  the  English  fishery  has  done 
for  Great  Britain,  the  American  fishery  has  done 
for  the  LTnited  States  —  and  more."  "Hundreds 
of  islands  in  the  Pacific  Ocean  were  first  made 
known  to  civilization,  and  first  located  upon  charts, 
by  whalemen ;  and  the  captains  of  whale-ships  were 
eagerly  consulted  when  exploring  expeditions  to 
those  seas  were  to  be  undertaken.  Wilkes  and 


Business  Partnerships. 


Parry  both  were  indebted  to  these  hardy,  adventu- 
rous mariners,  and  in  the  compilation  of  his  great 
work  on  '  Ocean  Currents,'  Maury  was  in  constant 
communication  with  them."  "No  nobler  class  of 
men,  no  more  skilful  navigators,  ever  trod  any 
deck  than  those  who  have  shipped  upon  our  whale- 
men. Those  in  command  are  brave  and  daring 
without  recklessness,  quick  to  act  in  emergency, 
but  prudently  guarding  the  lives  of  their  men 
and  the  safety  of  their  ships;  self-reliant  but  self- 
possessed." 

It  was  during  the  business  life  of  Mr.  Haven  that 
the  American  whale  fishery  attained  to  its  greatest 
prominence  and  extent ;  and  not  only  did  the  in- 
citements and  demands  of  that  industry  have  a 
part  in  developing  and  broadening  his  business  en- 
ergies and  capacity,  but  his  originality  and  bold- 
ness had  no  small  effect  in  giving  fresh  advantage 
to  American  enterprise  in  the  competitions  and 
new  emergencies  of  that  industry  in  the  years  of 
its  greatest  rise  and  of  its  decadence. 

When  he  was  twenty-three  years  old,  Mr.  Haven 
began  business  for  himself  as  the  head  of  the  firm 

O 

of  Haven  and  Smith  ;  his  former  employer,  Major 
Williams,  being  a  silent  member  of  the  firm  during 
the  terms  of  his  service  in  Congress.  In  1846,  Mr. 
Williams  resumed  his  place  in  the  business,  and 
the  firm  was  Williams  and  Haven.  Other  partners 
came  in  later,  and  the  firm  becameWilliams,  Haven, 


SECTION  V. 
BiminesB 
Aetivitien. 


Rise  and 
decadence 
of  whaling 


Partner- 


98 


A  Model  Superintendent. 


SKCTION  V. 
Business 
Activities. 


New 

London 

fisheries. 


and  Co.  For  thirty-five  years,  however,  Mr.  Haven 
was  the  directing  and  managing  head  of  the  house. 
In  that  time  he  sent  out  more  than  two  hundred 
vessels,  large  and  small,  in  pursuit  of  whales  and 
seals  and  sea-elephants.  When  whales  grew  scarce 
in  the  Southern  oceans,  he  was  a  fresh  pioneer  in 
the  Greenland  fisheries.  He  was  earliest  in  sealing 
and  elephanting  on  South  Georgia  Island,  east  of 
Cape  Horn.  He  was  first  in  the  experiment  of  a 
steam-whaler ;  and,  again,  of  a  steam  sealing-ves- 
sel.  He  was  always  sagacious  and  enterprising, 
and  on  the  watch  for  new  ventures  and  new  meth- 
ods of  winning  success  in  his  business.  A  voyage 
made  by  one  of  his  steam-whalers,  in  1864-65, 
is  said  to  have  been  "the  best  ever  made  by  an 
American  whaler."  The  entire  cost  of  the  vessel 
with  her  outfits  was  $35,800.  She  was  gone  a 
little  more  than  fifteen  months,  returning  with  a 
cargo  of  oil  and  bone  valued,  at  market  prices,  at 
$150,060. 

A  sketch  of  the  business  which  Mr.  Haven  rep- 
resented, published  during  his  lifetime,  from  the 
pen  of  one  familiar  with  the  facts  involved,  says, 
in  substance,  of  the  Kew  London  fishing  interests : 
"Vessels  fitted  out  here  have  scoured  the  utter- 
most parts  of  the  earth,  and  penetrated  every  nav- 
igable sea  inhabited  by  the  leviathan  of  the  deep. 
New  London  whaling  men  had  brought  home 
heavy  cargoes  of  oil  and  bone  from  the  haunts  of 


Pushing  Beyond. 


99 


the  Southern  right  whale  in  the  old  familiar  waters 
off  Brazil  and  Patagonia  and  the  islands  of  the 
North  Pacific  before  1830.  They  had  hunted 
that  most  noble  of  ocean  game,  the  huge-headed 
sperm  cetacean,  in  the  warmer  regions  of  the  At- 
lantic and  Pacific,  with  great  success.  With  the 
development  of  the  whaling  business,  they  pushed 
farther  and  farther  to  the  south  and  to  the  north, 
reaching  around  to  the  coast  of  Japan,  the  Sea  of 
Okhotsk,  and  Bearing's  Strait.  They  threw  the 
bomb  lance  in  the  Arctic  Sea;  and  in  1868  they 
went  nearer  the  pole  in  those  icy  waters  than  gov- 
ernment surveying  parties  ever  did  ;  going  within 
five  miles  of  the  new  but  as  yet  unexplored  conti- 
nent in  that  quarter,  of  which  other  navigators  had 
only  descried  the  peaks  of  the  mountains  in  the 
dim  distance.  They  harpooned  the  Northern  right 
whale  and  the  fierce  rorqual — the  fighting  charac- 
ter of  the  cetacean  tribe — in  the  ocean  near  Nova 
Zembla.  They  were  the  first  of  Americans  to 
penetrate  Davis's  Strait,  and  the  first  to  bring 
to  these  shores  a  cargo  from  those  two  desolate 
islands  lying  remote  and  solitary  in  the  extreme 
South  Indian  Ocean,  known  as  Kerguelen's  Land 
and  Hurd's  Island.  When  the  pursuit  of  the  sea- 
elephant  and  the  seal  came  into  respectable  im- 
portance by  the  side  of  that  of  the  whale,  they 
flung  themselves  into  it,  and  upon  every  wave- 
washed  shore  where  that  game  was  found  plenti- 


SEOTION  V. 
Business 
Activities. 


Sea- 

elephnnting 
anil  sealing. 


100 


A  Model  Superintendent. 


SKOTION  V. 
Business 
Activities. 


Huutiug 
sea- 
elephants. 


fully  they  hunted  it  with  unexampled  energy.  To 
study  where  they  have  gone  would  require  a  chart 
of  the  world,  and  no  chart  would  show  it  all ;  for 
they  have  often  sailed  beyond  the  chart.  Their 
story  is  a  splendid  one,  and  though  other  ports 
have  sent  out  larger  fleets  and  justly  entitled  them- 
selves to  gratitude  for  their  contributions  to  the 
national  wealth  which  have  resulted  from  their  ef- 
forts, the  whalers  of  none  of  them  can  point  to  a 
more  brilliant  record  of  bold  and  daring  and  gen- 
erally successful  enterprise  than  that  shown  by 
Xew  London." 

Of  the  hunt  for  sea-elephants,  by  vessels  of  Mr. 
Haven's  firm,  the  same  writer  tells  this  story : 

"  Kerguelen's  Land,  or  the  Island  of  Desolation, 
as  nautical  men  now  generally  call  it,  in  the  Indian 
Ocean,  was  much  resorted  to  by  the  English  at  the 
beginning  of  this  century.  Though  wild,  moun- 
tainous, and  uninhabited,  the  island  is  full  of  fine 
harbors  where  the  largest  navies  can  ride  in  secu- 

O 

rity ;  and  its  smooth  ocean-beaches  swarm  for  the 
greater  part  of  the  year  witli  the  sea-elephant. 
This  animal  is  the  largest  of  the  seal  tribe,  a  great, 
clumsy  beast,  with  a  body  half  as  large  as  a  whale, 
often  yielding  from  si±  to  twelve  barrels  of  oil. 
The  sea-elephants  bully  each  other  savagely  while 
on  shore,  but  when  attacked  by  the  harpooners 
show  little  fight,  unless  in  defence  of  the  females, 
and  are  quite  easily  killed.  Their  capture  was,  in 


Kerguelerfs  Land  Fisheries. 


101 


fact,  attended  with  so  little  difficulty  that  they 
were  nearly  exterminated,  and  voyages  to  Ker- 
guelen  ceased  to  be  profitable.  The  fishery  was 
abandoned  for  many  years.  But  tidings  had  just 
been  brought  to  America  by  a  small  vessel  that 
had  been  there  that  the  coasts  of  Kerguelen  again 
swarmed  with  sea-elephants,  when  Haven  and 
Smith  formed  their  copartnership,  in  May,  1838, 
and  at  once  they  sent  a  vessel  thither.  The  bark 
Chelsea  was,  with  a  schooner  for  her  tender,  fitted 
out  and  placed  in  charge  of  Captain  Frank  Smith, 
one  of  the  most  successful  whalemen  in  the  coun- 
try, and  despatched  to  her  destination  in  June  of 
the  same  year.  Soon  after,  the  ship  Columbia,v;\\.\\ 
a  schooner  for  a  tender,  was  sent  to  the  same  spot. 
Both  of  them  made  good  catches,  returning  after 
they  had  been  out  nearly  two  years,  the  Chelsea 
with  3266  barrels  of  sea-elephant  and  right-whale 
oil,  mostly  of  the  former,  and  twenty-seven  barrels 
of  sperm  ;  the  Columbia  with  4314  barrels. 

"  The  profitableness  of  the  fishery  being  thus 
determined,  it  was  followed  up  with  a  great  deal 
of  energy,  not  only  by  this  house,  but  by  others. 
Vessel  after  vessel  was  sent  out  to  the  island  from 
New  London  and  other  ports,  and  the  fishery  be- 
came in  time  so  flourishing  that,  by  1858,  there 
were  fourteen  vessels  there  from  New  London 
alone.  Haven  and  Smith  sent  out  a  great  many, 
getting  back  cargoes  at  an  average  rate  of  two  a 


SKOTION  V. 
BUMMCMI 
Activities. 


A  new- 
open  in  g. 


Profitable 
fishery. 


102 


A  Model  Superintendent. 


SECTION  V. 
Business 
Activities. 


Fl  actua- 
tions. 


Gnano 
trade. 


year.  At  first,  they  sent  out  ships  with  schooners 
for  tenders,  both  returning  when  they  had  secured 
a  cargo,  the  voyage  lasting  about  two  years.  After- 
wards, to  economize  time,  they  changed  this  plan. 
Schooners  were  left  at  the  island  to  cruise  the  year 
round,  while  the  ships  brought  home  their  cargoes 
every  two  years,  taking  out  on  the  next  trip  a  new 
crew  to  relieve  the  one  on  duty,  and  allow  the  lat- 
ter to  visit  home  with  the  next  ship  that  sailed. 
Some  years  the  catch  was  very  valuable ;  some 
years  it  was  not.  Prices  of  oil  fluctuated  very 
much,  and  it  not  unfrequently  happened  that  a 
large  cargo  failed  to  pay,  simply  because  it  could 
not  be  sold  at  profitable  rates.  As  far  as  the  catch 
is  concerned,  however,  the  ships  of  Mr.  Haven's 
house  did  admirably,  bringing  in  to  New  London, 
in  the  thirty-five  years  following  its  formation,  oil 
valued  at  $3,000,000." 

Another  branch  of  ocean  trade  prosecuted  by 
Mr.  Haven's  firm  was  that  of  bringing  guano  from 
islands  near  the  equator  in  the  western  Pacific 
Ocean.  Formerly  the  world  markets  were  sup- 
plied with  this  fertilizer  almost  exclusively  from 
the  Peruvian  coast;  the  deposits  there  having  been 
worked  from  a  date  as  early  as  1550.  It  was  a 
little  more  than  thirty  years  ago  that  guano  was 
accidentally  discovered  on  Baker's  Island,  in  the 
western  Pacific,  through  its  upturning  while  a 
grave  was  being  dug  for  the  burial  of  a  sailor 


Shipping  Guano. 


103 


from  a  whale-ship.  Subsequently,  similar  deposits 
were  found  on  many  of  the  coral  islands  in  that 
region,  trior  to  this,  Mr.  Haven  had  brought 
some  guano  from  the  coast  of  Patagonia,  and 
again  from  the  coast  of  Africa.  Early  in  1859, 
Mr.  C.  A.  Williams,  a  partner  of  Mr.  Haven,  resi- 
dent at  the  Sandwich  Islands,  landed  on  one  of 
the  islands  of  the  Phoenix  Island  group,  while 
cruising  in  search  of  guano.  Finding  it  abundant 
there,  he  at  once  took  steps  for  bringing  it  to 
market.  Soon  Mr.  Haven's  firm  had  a  number  of 
vessels  in  that  trade. 

At  the  opening  of  the  war,  in  1861,  several  of 
these  vessels  were  on  their  passage  from  the  isl- 
ands to  southern  ports  of  the  United  States,  where 
their  cargoes  had  been  contracted  for.  Arriving 
on  this  coast,  they  found  the  embargo  in  force,  and 
were  ordered  to  Europe  for  a  market.  The  guano 
from  those  islands  was  then  unknown  in  Europe, 
and  there  was  much  delay  in  disposing  of  the  car- 
goes. Meantime  the  freight-money — amounting  to 
$100.000 — must  be  paid,  and  Mr.  Haven's  financial 
skill  was  taxed  to  the  utmost  to  meet  the  emer- 
gency. At  the  time,  the  affair  was  a  heavy  blow 
to  all  concerned  ;  but  a  European  market  was 
opened  for  the  guano,  and  for  some  years  after 
.Germany  took  all  that  could  be  shipped. 

The  procuring  and  shipping  this  guano  was  no 
slight  undertaking.  Those  uninhabited  coral  isl- 


SKOTION  V. 
Business 
Activities. 


A  discov- 
ery. 


War  risks. 


104 


A  Model  Superintendent. 


SECTION  V. 
Business 
Activities. 


Difficulties 
of  loading. 


Enterprise. 


ands  in  mid-ocean  were  commonly  surrounded  by 
a  dangerous  double  ledge  or  shelf  of  coral  rock, 
which  rendered  the  loading  of  vessels  a  matter  of 
great  difficulty  and  peril.  In  other  cases,  the  heavy 
ocean  surf  was  a  barrier.  A  peculiar  method  of 
mooring  the  vessels  by  a  series  of  connected  an- 
chors was  adopted  at  some  of  the  islands ;  and, 
again,  there  were  movable  surf-wharves  on  rollers, 
for  use  in  calmer  weather.  Yet  a  sudden  change 
of  wind,  or  a  little  carelessness  on  the  part  of  those 
in  command,  would  cause  the  swinging  round  of  a 
vessel  on  to  the  ledges,  or  her  beaching  in  the  surf: 
in  either  case  to  be  a  total  loss.  There  were  in 
all  some  sixty  vessels  loading  at  the  Phoenix  Isl- 
and group.  The  guano  shipped  by  them  while 
Mr.  Haven's  firm  prosecuted  this  trade  was  about 
70,000  tons.  A  colony  of  some  forty  men,  mostly 
Kanakas  (Sandwich-Islanders),  was  commonly  kept 
up  at  these  guano-islands.  Everything  that  they 
had  must  be  taken  to  them  from  Honolulu.  Like 
every  other  branch  of  Mr.  Haven's  ocean  business, 
the  guano-trade  involved  large  outlay,  great  risk, 
and  peculiar  administrative  ability. 

A  good  illustration  of  the  alertness  and  energy 
of  Mr.  Haven  in  business  matters  was  given  in  his 
early  action  with  reference  to  the  Alaska  seal  fish- 
eries. In  consequence  of  the  reckless  destruction^ 
of  seals  in  regions  open  to  all  who  chose  to  hunt 
them,  comparatively  few  of  those  animals  were  to 


Squatter  Sovereignty. 


105 


be  found  elsewhere  than  on  the  coast  of  Alaska, 
at  the  time  when  that  territory  was  ceded  to  the 
United  States  by  Russia.  There  they  had  been 
preserved  from  extermination,  through  the  care  of 
a  company  granted  the  monopoly  of  their  capture 
by  the  Russian  government. 

When,  in  1867,  negotiations  were  in  progress  for 
the  purchase  of  Alaska,  Mr.  Haven  corresponded 
with  Secretary  Seward  to  learn  if  citizens  of  the 
United  States  would  be  free  to  hunt  seal  in  that 
territory  when  its  transfer  were  completed.  Learn- 
ing that  they  would  have  this  liberty,  he  was  on 
the  watch  to  improve  the  opening.  No  sooner 
did  he  learn  by  a  telegram  from  Washington  that 
Alaska  was  ceded,  than  he  was  at  work  to  have  his 
vessels  on  its  coast.  lie  was  no  such  sluggard  as 
to  put  to  sea  from  New  London  for  a  voyage 
around  Cape  Horn.  Instead  of  that,  he  despatched, 
in  a  mid-winter  snow-storm,  his  active  partner, 
Mr.  R.  II.  Chapell — who  had  been  trained  by  him 
from  boyhood,  and  was  fully  possessed  of  his  plans 
and  spirit — together  with  an  experienced  and  val- 
ued ship-captain,  Captain  Ebenezer  Morgan — who 
had  sailed  for  many  years  in  his  service  in  com- 
mand of  whaling  and  sealing  vessels  —  and  two 
competent  mates  to  the  Pacific  coast,  by  way  of 
Panama ;  thence  to  the  Sandwich  Islands,  where 
his  partner,  Mr.  C.  A.  Williams,  already  referred 
to,  resided.  At  Honolulu  one  of  his  whaling-ships, 


SECTION  V. 
Business 
Activities. 


Alnska 
prospects. 


106 


A  Model  Superintendent. 


SECTION  V. 
Business 
Activities. 


Yankee 
push. 


which  was  found  there,  was  promptly  fitted  for 
sea,  and  a  schooner  was  chartered  as  her  tender. 
Full  crews  were  secured  for  both  vessels,  and  they 
were  sent  with  all  speed  to  Alaska.  Sitka  being 
the  only  port  of  entry,  they  reported  there  to 
Gen.  Jefferson  C.  Davis,  in  command.  With  his 
approval  they  pushed  out  to  St.  Paul's  Island,  the 
sealing -ground,  250  miles  from  the  mainland. 
There  they  effected  the  first  landing  after  the 
purchase,  and  raised  the  first  American  flag.  As 
a  result  of  their  venture  they  soon  had  45,000  seal- 
skins for  shipment  to  England,  according  to  the 
orders  of  Mr.  Haven. 

So  the  Connecticut  Yankee  had  his  men  across 
the  continent,  out  into  mid-ocean,  and  up  towards 
the  north  pole,  to  take  advantage  of  the  new  seal- 
ing chances,  while  the  Californians  were  rubbing 
their  eyes  preparatory  to  looking  into  the  possi- 
bilities of  something  in  that  line.  The  Hon.  Mr. 
Dawes,  of  Massachusetts,  said  of  this  operation,  as 
it  afterwards  came  under  review  before  a  Congres- 
sional committee,  that  it  was  one  of  the  brightest 
business  movements  he  had  ever  known,  and  that 
he  was  proud  of  the  New  England  keenness  and 
enterprise  shown  in  its  conception  and  execution. 

Soon  there  were  Californians  on  the  Alaska 
sealing-grounds.  After  a  while  a  combination  was 
formed  between  the  ship-owners  East  and  West, 
and  a  lease,  dated  August  3, 1870,  was  obtained  by 


Peculiarities  of  the  Seal. 


107 


them  from  the  United  States  government,  of  St. 
Paul's  and  St.  George's  islands,  with  the  exclusive 
right  of  seal-catching  there,  under  certain  restric- 
tions. Mr.  Haven  was  active  in  securing  this  lease; 
and  he  was  a  leading  man  in  the  councils  of  the 
new  company  from  its  organization  until  his  death. 
The  revenue  to  the  government  from  this  com- 
pany is  more  than  $300,000  per  annum. 

The  two  islands  chartered  by  this  company  are 
quite  isolated,  being  thirty  miles  apart,  and  are 
little  more  than  barren  rocks  of  the  Aleutian  range, 

O     / 

running  from  the  coast  of  Alaska  towards  Kam- 
tchatka.  A  small  population,  principally  of  na- 
tive Aleutians,  a  people  essentially  Esquimaux,  oc- 
cupy these  islands  and  pursue  the  seal  fishery. 
They  are  provided  by  the  company  with  houses 
and  with  schools,  free  of  charge,  and  with  all  ar- 
ticles of  necessity  at  San  Francisco  market  rates. 
They  are  also  protected  from  the  curse  of  intox- 
icating liquors  by  the  terms  of  the  company's 
charter. 

The  men  work  in  parties  at  their  seal-killing, 
being  paid  according  to  the  number  of  seals  killed. 
"A  skilful  Aleut  will  skin  fifty  in  a  day."  Not 
only  are  young  seals  and  female  seals  exempt 
from  slaughter,  but  no  seals  are  killed  at  their 
"rookeries,"  or  gathering -places  on  the  coast. 
They  must  first  be  driven  or  coaxed  to  the  "  kill- 
ing-grounds" in  the  interior  of  the  islands,  out  of 


SKOTION  V. 

Business 

Activities. 


Seal 

islands. 


Seal-killinj:. 


108 


A  Model  /Superintendent. 


SECTION  V. 
Business 
Activities. 


Sensitive- 
ness of  the 
seal. 


sight  and  out  of  scent  of  the  coast.  This  pre- 
caution is  necessary,  because  of  the  peculiar  sen- 
sitiveness and  timidity  of  the  seal.  "Very  strange 
are  these  seal,"  says  Dr.  Kane,  in  recording  his  first 
killing  of  one  in  the  polar  seas :  "  a  countenance 
between  the  dog  and  the  mild  African  ape — an 
expression  so  like  that  of  humanity  that  it  makes 
gun-murderers  hesitate."  "Have  naturalists  ever 
noticed  the  expression  of  this  animal's  phiz?"  he 
asks,  as  he  tells  of  the  dying  look  given  to  him  by 
his  first  victim.  "  Curiosity,  contentment,  pain,  re- 
proach, despair,  even  resignation,  I  thought  I  saw 
on  this  seal's  face." 

Although  the  male  seals  will  fight  manfully  in 
defence  of  the  females,  when  fairly  cornered,  the 
discharge  of  firearms,  the  barking  of  a  dog,  the 
tainting:  of  the  water  about  them  with  the  blood 

O 

of  one  of  their  number,  or  even  the  smell  of  light- 
ed tobacco,  is  sometimes  sufficient  to  drive  seals 
from  their  rookeries.  And  driving  them  away 
permanently  means  their  extermination  ;  for  if 
they  cannot  come  back  to  the  waters  where  they 
were  born,  they  cease  to  increase.  An  illustration 
of  this  truth  is  found  in  the  story  of  sealing  on 
Kerguelen's  Land,  after  the  seal  were  newly  dis- 
covered there  some  years  ago.  So  abundant  were 
the  seals  at  first,  that  as  many  as  1,700,000  were 
killed  in  a  single  year  by  the  vessels  flocking 
thither  from  all  quarters.  But  in  the  space  of 


Polar  Explorations. 


109 


three  years  they  were  practically  exterminated, 
there  not  being  enough  left  to  make  their  catch- 
ing remunerative.  On  the  Alaska  islands,  how- 
ever, the  rigid  regulations  concerning  the  taking 
of  seals  are  enforced  not  only  by  the  presence  of 
resident  government  inspectors,  but  by  the  obvious 
interests  of  those  engaged  in  the  work.  As  a  re- 
sult, more  than  two  thirds  of  all  the  seals  now 
taken  in  the  world  are  from  those  islands;  and 
there  they  are  on  the  increase.  "  At  first  the  fur 
seal  were  killed  in  immense  numbers  by  the  Rus- 
sians. At  one  time  three  hundred  thousand  skins 
were  destroyed,  in  order  that  the  market  might  not 
be  overstocked.  It  was  only  when  their  numbers 
were  greatly  diminished  that  the  number  annually 
killed  was  limited,  and  the  other  previously  men- 
tioned restrictions  imposed." 

Mr.  Haven's  interest  in  the  Alaska  fisheries  was 
a  source  of  large  revenue  to  him;  and,  of  course, 
it  demanded  his  best  business  attention  and  en- 
deavors. 

With  all  else  that  he  had  to  do,  Mr.  Haven  found 
time  to  show  his  hearty  sympathy  with  the  various 
scientific  explorations  of  the  Northern  seas  during 
the  last  twenty  years  of  his  life,  and  to  render  sub- 
stantial assistance  to  some  of  the  adventurous  spir- 
its who  engaged  so  chivalrously  in  the  search  for 
remains  of  Sir  John  Franklin's  expedition.  In- 

*  See  Dall's  Alaska  and  its  Resources. 


SECTION  V. 
Business 
Activities. 


Aiding 
iu  Arctic 
research. 


A  Model  Superintendent. 


SECTION  V. 
Business 
Activities. 


Startling  the 
Russians. 


deed,  it  is  a  noteworthy  fact  that  whaling  masters 
and  whaling  owners  have  been  prominent  in  con- 
nection with  polar  explorations  for  centuries.  The 
whale-fishery  and  the  fur-hunting  interests  received 
attention  before  the  days  of  Columbus,  and  such 
navigators  as  Octher  and  Erik  the  Red,  a  thou- 

O  ' 

sand  years  ago,  had  an  eye  to  the  material  advan- 
tages of  discoveries  in  the  Arctic  regions,  rather 
than  to  any  scientific  gain  therefrom.  Before  the 
beginning  of  this  century  American  whalers  had 
followed  their  game  nearer  to  the  north  pole  than 
any  one  else  had  pursued  an  idea.  It  was  while 
searching  for  new  fishing  and  furring  grounds,  in 
1821,  that  Captain  Nathaniel  B.  Palmer,  of  Ston- 
ington,  a  New  London  County  shipmaster,  discov- 
ered the  land  still  bearing  his  name  in  the  Antarc- 
tic region.  It  is  in  connection  with  that  discovery 
that  the  story  is  told  of  the  Russians'  wonder  over 
Yankee  enterprise.  The  story  is,  that  a  Russian 
exploring  expedition  reached  that  region  soon  af- 
ter Captain  Palmer  had  made  his  landing  there, 
and  while  he  was  scouting  from  this  base  in  fur- 
ther explorations.  Thinking  that  the  land  was 
until  then  entirely  unknown,  the  Russians  took 
formal  possession  of  it  in  the  name  of  the  Czar, 
and  followed  its  shores  to  locate  them  intelligent- 
ly. To  their  amazement,  as  they  reached  a  new 
inlet  they  saw  anchored  there  a  venturesome  Con- 
necticut schooner,  and  a  boat  from  her  pushed  off 


Scientific  Outgrowths  of  Whaling. 


Ill 


to  them  to  ask  if  they  would  like  a  pilot  along  the 
coast.  This  settled  the  question  of  priority  of  dis- 
covery, and  Russians  and  Americans  agreed  in  call- 
ing the  new  country  Palmer's  Land. 

It  has  even  been  suggested  that  all  the  more 
modern  strictly  scientific  expeditions  of  polar  re- 
search were,  in  a  certain  sense,  an  outgrowth  of 
the  zeal  and  enterprise  in  this  direction  of  William 
Scoresby,  an  English  whaling  captain,  at  the  be- 
ginning of  this  century.  His  name,  it  has  been 
said,  "  may  justly  be  considered  as  the  connecting- 
link  between  the  old  explorers  —  the  adventures 
made  almost  solely  in  the  interest  of  commerce — 
and  those  more  liberal  modern  enterprises  con- 
ducted in  the  spirit  of  the  newly  dawning  scien- 
tific era."  *  It  was  in  1806,  while  he  was  on  a 
whaling  vo}rage  in  the  Greenland  seas,  that  he  first 
deviated  from  the  ordinary  whaleman's  track  for 
the  express  purpose  of  scientific  research  in  the 
direction  of  the  Polar  Sea.  From  that  time  on  he 
combined  whaling  with  scientific  exploration,  pub- 
lishing, from  time  to  time,  the  results  of  his  in- 
vestigation, and  thus  stimulating  public  interest 
in  the  subject.  "  It  was  out  of  a  correspondence 
which  he  held  with  Sir  Joseph  Banks,  in  1817, 
that  was  evolved  the  combination  of  events  which 
led  to  the  equipment  of  those  mixed  land  and 
water  explorations  commanded  by  Parry,  Ross, 

*  See  Blake's  Arctic  Experiences. 


SECTION  V. 
Business 
Activities. 


William 
Scores  by  *» 
iufluetice. 


112 


A  Model  Superintendent. 


SECTION  V. 
Business 
Activities. 


Combining 
whale- 
fishing  with 
discovery. 


Sympathy 

with 

explorer?. 


and  Franklin,  and  out  of  these  expeditions  grew 
those  of  De  Haven,  Kane,  Hayes,  Hall,  and  others." 
It  was  in  that  correspondence  with  Banks  that 
Scoresby  said  of  his  long-time  desire  to  devote 
himself,  through  a  series  of  voyages,  to  explora- 
tions "  towards  deciding  whether  or  not  a  naviga- 
tion into  the  Pacific,  either  by  a  northeast  or  north- 
west passage,  existed."  "  By  the  way  of  avoiding 
unnecessary  expense,  I  proposed  to  combine  the 
object  of  whale  fishery  with  that  of  discovery,  on 
every  occasion  when  the  situation  of  the  ice  was 
unfavorable  for  scientific  research.  Since  no  one 
can  possibly  state,  from  observation  of  the  ice  in 
any  one  season,  what  opportunity  may  occur  on  a 
subsequent  occasion,  it  would  be  well  to  have  this 
reserve  (whaling)  for  the  reduction  of  the  expen- 
diture, in  the  event  of  the  opportunity  for  discov- 
ery failing."  And  in  an  eminent  French  memoir 
of  Sir  John  Franklin,  it  is  declared  of  Scoresby's 
part  in  reviving  interest  in  polar  researches:  "In 
spite  of  previous  discoveries,  the  subject  of  Arctic 
explorations  was  again  almost  forgotten,  when  an 
English  whaler,  an  intelligent  and  intrepid  sailor, 
who  had  for  many  years  navigated  the  Greenland 
seas,  demonstrated  the  possibility  of  effecting  a 
per-glacial  voyage  across  to  the  Pacific." 

In  view  of  such  facts  as  these,  it  was  by  no 
means  strange  that  Mr.  Haven's  connection  with 
the  whaling  interests,  and  with  whalers  as  a  class, 


Captain  C.  F.  Hall. 


113 


should  give  to  him  a  peculiar  sympathy  with  Arc- 
tic explorers  and  their  investigations.  Captain  C. 
F.  Hall,  whose  final  expedition  in  the  Polaris  is 
more  popularly  known  than  his  earlier  ones,  be- 
cause of  its  ill-fated  ending,  but  whose  previous 
discoveries  in  the  polar  regions  were  of  no  mean 
order,  failed  for  years,  through  lack  of  means  and 
of  influential  friends,  to  find  any  avenue  to  a  part 
in  the  search  for  Sir  John  Franklin's  party  or  its 
remains,  which  he  ardently  longed  to  share.  "  It 
was  not  until  the  year  1860,"  says  one  of  his  biog- 
raphers, "  that  he  was  at  last  enabled  to  put  his 
long-cherished  plans  in  operation.  In  pursuit  of 
information  among  practical  men,  who  knew  the 
modes  of  life  among  the  Esquimaux,  and  the  re- 
sources of  living  on  the  shores  north  of  Hudson 

O 

Bay,  and  north  and  west  of  Cumberland  Sound, 
Captain  Hall  visited  New  London.  Here  he  was 
fortunately  introduced  to  the  firm  of  Williams  and 
Haven,  who  generously  tendered  him  a  free  pas- 
sage in  their  bark,  the  Georg& Henry,  to  which 
was  attached  as  tender  the  famous  Rescue,  a 
schooner  once  known  as  the  Anaret,  and  which 
had  been  consort  to  the  Advance  in  1850-51,  in 
the  De  Have'n  Arctic  expedition." 

Returning  from  his  first  voyage  in  the  autumn 
of  1862,  Captain  Hall  was  only  more  desirous  than 
before  of  extending  his  polar  researches,  in  the 
light  of  his  new  experiences.  In  March,  1863,  he 


SKOTION  V. 

Hn-incs-- 
Activities. 


Cant.  Hall 
at  New 
Lou  don. 


Hall's 

second 

expedition. 


114 


A  Model  Superintendent. 


SECTION  V. 
Business 

Activities. 


A  new  pro- 
posal for 
whaling  and 
research. 


The  Polaris 
expedition. 


had  a  conference  with  Mr.  Henry  Grinnell  of  New 
York,  and  Mr.  R.  H.  Chapell  of  New  London,  a 
partner  of  Mr.  Haven,  at  which  he  submitted  sev- 
eral plans  for  a  new  expedition.  One  of  these 
plans  was  called  by  him  "  The  Combination  Re- 
search and  Whaling  Expedition."  Like  Scoresby's 
project,  it  included  the  meeting  of  all  expenses  of 
scientific  exploration  by  "the  proceeds  of  the  whal- 
ing business."  "By  establishing  headquarters  at 
Repulse  Bay,"  and  "having  there  a  whale-boat 
strongly  constructed,"  "also  Frobisher  Bay  Esqui- 
maux, there  need  be,"  as  Captain  Hall  expressed  it, 
"no  hindrance  to  the  force  employed  on  the  vessel 
from  prosecuting  to  the  fullest  extent  this  branch 
of  the  expedition,  to  wit,  whaling."  *  Various  ob- 
stacles presenting  themselves  to  the  carry  ing- out 
of  Captain  Hall's  preferred  and  more  extensive 
plans — chief  among  these  being  the  difficulty  of 
raising  money  while  capitalists  were  so  embar- 
rassed with  losses  in  the  early  part  of  the  war — he 
turned  again  to  his  New  London  friends,  and  took 
passage  in  another  vessel  of  Mr.  Haven's,  the  Mon- 
ticello.  It  was  from  this  vessel,  just  as  he  was  sail- 
ing, in  June,  1864,  that  Captain  Hall  dated  the 
Preface  to  his  volume  of  Arctic  Researches,  giving 
an  account  of  his  first  expedition. 

The  Polaris  expedition,  on  which  Captain  Hall 

*  See  Narrative  of  the  Second  Arctic  Expedition  made  by  C.  F. 
Hall,  18G4-69.     Government  Printing-Office,  1879. 


Supplying  the  Explorers. 


115 


lost  his  life,  which  sailed  from  New  London,  drew 
largely  for  its  personnel  on  men  who  had  seen  ser- 
vice, or  been  trained  to  it,  in  Mr.  Haven's  whaling 
vessels.  The  sailing-master,  S.  O.  Buddington,  who 
succeeded  to  the  command  of  the  Polaris  on  the 
death  of  Captain  Hall;  the  assistant -navigator, 
George  E.  Tyson,  whose  marvellous  drift,  with  a 
party  of  nineteen,  including  women  and  children, 
on  the  ice-float,  for  six  months  or  more,  and  over 
fifteen  hundred  miles  of  sea,  is  one  of  the  great  ro- 
mances of  Arctic  expeditions;  the  first  mate,  Hub- 
bard  C.  Chester;  and  Esquimaux  "Joe"  (Ebier- 
bing),  on  whose  skill  and  fidelity  the  safety  of  the 
ice-float  party  unquestionably  depended,  were  in- 
cluded in  this  category.  And  the  same  might  be 
said  of  the  navigators  of  other  Arctic  vessels. 

It  was  a  standing  order  of  Williams  and  Haven 
to  their  whaling  captains  to  take  up  and  set  down 
the  Arctic  explorers  at  any  point  desired  by  them, 
and  to  supply  them  freely  with  whatever  stores 
they  were  in  need  of.  As  Captain  Ebenezer  Mor- 
gan said,  in  reporting  the  aid  given  by  him  to 
Captain  Hall,  when  on  one  occasion  he  found  him 
in  lock  at  the  head  of  Repulse  Baj7,  "  I  told  him 
to  take  anything  he  wanted.  There  was  nothing 
in  my  ship  too  good  for  him  if  he  needed  it ;  for 
that,  I  knew,  was  the  way  Mr.  Haven  felt  about 
Captain  Hall."  To  blot  out  Mr.  Haven's  share, 
direct  and  indirect,  in  the  Arctic  explorations 


SECTION  V. 
Business 
Activities. 


Furnishing 
the  men. 


Furnishing 
supplies. 


116 


A  Model  /Superintendent. 


SKOTION  V. 

Business 
Activities?. 


The  wide 
world  over. 


would  materially  deface  the  record  of,  perhaps,  the 
most  chivalrous  and  unselfish  devotion  to  the  in- 
terests of  pure  science  which  modern  days  afford. 

A  marked  feature  in  Mr.  Haven's  business  en- 
terprises—  a  feature  which  had  its  influence  in 
shaping  his  character  and  in  expanding  his  views 
— was  their  world-wide  reach,  keeping  him  in  con- 
stant communication  with  the  ends  of  the  earth. 
His  whaling  was  in  the  Indian  Ocean,  the  South 
Pacific  Ocean,  and  the  Arctic  Ocean — from  Baffin's 
Bay  to  Behring's  Strait.  His  sealing  was  both  in 
the  Arctic  and  Antarctic  circles — at  St.  Paul's  and 
St.  George's  islands,  off  Alaska ;  and  at  the  South 
Shetlands.  off  Cape  Horn.  His  sea-elephanting 
was  in  the  far  South,  at  Kerguelen's  Land  and 
Ilurd's  Island.  It  is  a  noteworthy  fact  just  here, 
as  another  item  in  Mr.  Haven's  contributions  to 
science,  that  the  first  trustworthy  chart  of  Kergue- 
len's Land  was  made  by  one  of  his  captains,  and 
that  a  copy  of  this  was  obtained  from  Mr.  Haven 
by  the  United  States  government  for  use  by  the 
scientific  party  sent  to  that  island  to  observe  the 
transit  of  Venus,  in  1874.  Mr.  Haven's  guano- 
trade  was  with  islands  near  the  equator;  and  one 
of  his  partners  was  resident  at  the  Sandwich  Isl- 
ands. For  years  he  kept  up  colonies,  in  one 
branch  or  another  of  his  business,  at  points  near 
the  north  pole,  the  south  pole,  and  the  equator, 
besides  having  his  vessels  in  all  waters. 


Meeting  Losses  Bravely. 


117 


Another  feature  of  his  business  was  its  large 
and  imminent  risks.  The  remarkable  profits  of  a 
single  whaling  voyage  have  been  instanced.  On 
the  other  hand,  an  historian  already  quoted  illus- 
trates the  uncertainties  of  this  fishery  by  this  rec- 
ord :  "  Of  the  sixty-eight  whalers  expected  to  ar- 
rive in  New  Bedford  and  Fairhaven  in  1858,  forty- 
four  were  calculated  as  making  losing  voyages,  and 
the  same  proportion  would  apply  to  other  ports. 
The  estimated  loss  to  owners  during  this  year  was 
at  least  $1,000,000."  Often  Mr.  Haven  was  disap- 
pointed in  the  results  of  voyages  carefully  planned 
by  him.  "And  nothing  was  more  remarkable  in 
him,"  said  one  who  knew  him  well,  "  than  his  grit 
in  meeting  losses.  He  was  used  to  losing  vessels, 
and  he  never  appeared  disturbed  by  it.  All  he 
wanted  was  to  take  a  new  start  at  once,  to  make 
the  loss  good  as  soon  as  possible."  And  with  all 
his  world -wide  business,  in  its  demands  and  its 
risks,  pressing  upon  him  continually,  Mr.  Haven, 
amid  his  greatest  anxieties  and  severest  losses,  and 
in  the  busiest  season,  went  back  and  forth,  week 
after  week,  between  his  home  and  his  country 
Sunday-school  at  Waterford,  and  was  also  faithful 
at  his  post  in  his  city  school,  as  if  he  had  nothing 
else  to  live  for,  or  to  think  of,  than  the  one  of 
those  Sunday-schools  or  the  other. 

Nor  did  Mr.  Haven  limit  his  business  activities 
to  the  great  commercial  enterprises  of  his  ship- 


SEOTION  V. 
Business 
Activities. 


Disappoint- 
ments. 


On  land 
as  well  as 
at  sea. 


118 


A  Model  /Superintendent. 


SECTION  V. 
Business 
Activities. 


Railroading 
and  banking. 


ping-house.  A  man  as  successful  as  he  was  in 
the  conduct  of  his  personal  affairs  is  sure  to  be 
urged  to  administer  for  the  business  interests  of 
others.  "  Unto  him  that  hath  shall  be  given,"  is 
as  true  in  worldly  responsibilities  as  in  spiritual 
gifts ;  and  the  man  who  has  most  to  do  is  surest 
to  be  called  on  to  do  more.  If  a  great  bankrupt 
estate  in  his  community  demanded  exceptional 
ability,  conjoined  with  unquestioned  integrity,  to 
save  it  in  settlement  from  utter  ruin,  Mr.  Haven 
was  likely  to  be  summoned  by  the  united  voice 
of  the  creditors  to  take  it  in  charge ;  and  he  could 
find  time  for  all  the  work  which  this  trust  entailed. 
In  1860,  he  was  chosen  president  of  the  New  Lon- 
don Northern  Railroad  Company,  at  a  time  when 
the  affairs  of  that  corporation  seemed  to  require 
the  undivided  energies  of  a  superior  mind.  He 
took  the  place,  and  for  nearly  six  years  filled  it 
with  eminent  ability.  He  was  an  original  corpo- 
rator of  the  Mariners'  Savings  Bank,  of  the  Na- 
tional Bank  of  Commerce,  and  of  the  Equitable 
Trust  Company  of  New  London,  being  also  a  di- 
rector in  each  institution,  and  vice-president  of 
the  first-named,  from  the  time  of  its  organization 
until  his  death.  At  the  time  of  his  death  he  was 
also  president  of  the  New  London  City  National 
Bank.  Nor  were  these  all  of  his  outside  business 
activities. 

"  I  never  saw  a  man,"  said  a  prominent  fellow- 


Doing  the  Lord's  Work. 


119 


citizen  of  his  on  the  day  of  Mr.  Haven's  funeral, — 
"  I  never  saw  a  man  who  could  do  so  many  things, 
and  do  them  all  so  well,  as  Henry  P.  Haven." 
Could  more  than  this  have  been  said  of  him,  if 
he  had  not  been  a  devoted  and  untiring  Sunday- 
school  superintendent?  On  the  contrary,  it  may 
rather  be  affirmed  that  it  was  because  Mr.  Haven 
was  so  faithful  in  his  Sunday-school  work  that  he 
was  so  successful  in  the  other  departments  of  his 
life-work.  The  relieving  change  of  mental  activity 
necessitated  by  the  totally  different  spheres  of  toil 
and  care  in  his  religious  and  secular  occupations 
probably  enabled  him  to  do  more,  and  to  do  it 
better,  than  if  he  had  confined  himself  to  secular 
occupations  alone.  He  was  the  stronger  for  his 
own  work  through  not  neglecting  the  Lord's  work. 
In  truth,  all  that  he  did  he  looked  on  as  the  Lord's 
work ;  and,  because  he  honored  the  Lord  in  its 
doing,  the  Lord  honored  him  in  its  results;  and 
"the  Lord  made  all  that  he  did  to  prosper  in  his 
hand." 


SECTION  V. 

Business 

Activities. 


On  the 

other 

shoulder. 


120 


A  Model  Superintendent. 


SECTION  VI, 

Public 
Services. 


Outside 

religions 

activities. 


VI. 

PUBLIC  SERVICES. 

Outside  Sunday-school  Work;  Lay  Preaching ;  Arranging  the  In- 
ternational Lessons ;  Promoting  Common-school  Interests  ;  Work- 
ing with  Benevolent  Societies;  In  Denominational  Gatherings; 
A  Delegate  to  Great  Britain ;  Political  Services. 

IT  might  fairly  be  supposed  that  with  so  large 
business  interests  as  pressed  for  his  attention,  and 
with  two  Sunday-schools  on  his  hands,  Mr.  Haven 
would  not  have  time  or  strength  for  any  extended 
public  services ;  but  his  life  was  only  a  fresh  illus- 
tration of  the  truth  that  it  is  always  the  busiest 
man  who  can  be  depended  on  to  do  one  thing 
more.  In  fact,  Mr.  Haven's  outside  general  work, 
both  secular  and  religious,  was  sufficient  in  extent 
and  variety  to  occupy  the  entire  talents  and  ener- 
gies of  any  ordinary  man. 

He  was  quick  to  respond  to  any  call  on  him  in 
promoting  church  and  Sunday-school  interests  in 
the  community  about  him,  outside  of  his  own  de- 
nomination. Nor  did  he  always  wait  to  be  called 
to  such  service.  He  sometimes  proffered  it  where 
it  was  not  asked  for,  but  where  he  thought  it  was 
needed.  If  another  country  neighborhood  than 


-Lay  Preaching. 


121 


SUCTION  VI. 

Public 
Services. 


the  one  he  already  had  in  charge  lacked  a  Sunday- 
school,  he  would  urge  attention  to  it.  If  the  man 
to  start  a  Sunday-school  there  was  not  to  be  found, 
he  would  go  there  himself  and  put  things  in  mo- 
tion. Or,  if  a  feeble  church  seemed  in  danger  of 
dying  out,  he  was  quite  likely  to  take  hold  and 
rouse  its  members  to  action.  In  one  case,  for  ex- 
ample, he  found  a  closed  church -build ing  in  a 
needy  neighborhood,  where  only  three  members 
of  the  old  organization  were  still  living  in  the 
vicinity.  Trying  in  vain  to  get  any  one  else  to 
take  hold  of  the  work,  he  started  a  Sunday-school 
there,  and  for  a  time  superintended  it  himself.  It 
was  soon  prosperous  and  influential.  God  gave  it 
power.  Souls  were  born  anew.  After  a  time 
something  more  than  the  Sunday-school  services 
was  called  for.  As  no  clergyman  was  available, 
Mr.  Haven  began  preaching  in  the  old  church,  and  Puli)U- 
for  months  he  supplied  its  pulpit  regularly.  To 
secure  to  the  reorganized  church  the  administra- 
tion of  the  sacraments,  he  occasionally  exchanged 
pulpits  with  a  neighboring  pastor.  In  this  way 
that  church  was  nursed  and  trained  into  new  life 
until  it  was  able  again  to  secure  a  pastor  of  its 
owrn,  and  thereby  release  Mr.  Plaven  for  similar 
service  elsewhere.  This,  it  may  be  mentioned, 
was  a  Baptist  church,  wThile  Mr.  Haven  was  a  Con- 
gregationalist.  But  the  work  was  the  Master's. 
That  was  enough  for  Mr.  Haven  to  know. 


So 


ipplyhi! 
Baptist 


a  Bapti 


Dg 


122 


A  Model  /Superintendent. 


SECTION  VI 

Public 
Services. 


Redeeming 
the  time. 


It  was  a  little  more  than  twenty  years  ago  that 
the  writer  of  this  sketch  first  visited  Mr.  Haven, 
to  pass  a  few  days  with  him  for  the  purpose  of 
becoming  better  acquainted  with  his  Sunday-school 
work.  The  incidents  of  that  visit  well  illustrate 
the  reach  and  variety  of  Mr.  Haven's  ordinary  re- 
ligious activities  at  home  and  beyond.  On  Friday 
evening  he  led  an  institute,  or  a  normal-class  con- 
ference, of  nearly  two  hundred  teachers  from  the 
various  Sunday-schools  of  New  London.  On  Sat- 
urday he  rode  out  to  a  Seventh-day  Baptist  church 
in  Waterford,  where  he  preached  in  the  forenoon, 
and  at  noon  addressed  the  Sunday-school.  Re- 
turning to  New  London,  he  led  his  teachers'  meet- 
ing at  his  own  house  in  the  evening.  On  Sunday 
morning  he  conducted  the  opening  exercises  of 
his  church-school,  and  then  left  it  in  the  hands 
of  his  assistant,  that  he  might  ride  out  several 
miles  to  the  little  Baptist  church  which  he  was 
nursing  into  life,  as  before  described.  There  he 
preached.  After  this  service  he  attended  the  Sun- 
day-school session.  Riding  thence  across  the  coun- 
try to  his  "Gilead"  Sunday-school,  he  led  the 
exercises  there,  and  taught  a  Bible-class,  as  usual. 
Before,  sun  down  he  was  back  at  his  New  London 
home,  ready  for  the  evening  service  at  his  church. 
And  all  this  was  but  an  indication  of  what  he  was 
continually  doing  in  addition  to  his  regular  church 
and  Sunday-school  work  at  home. 


The  International  Lessons. 


123 


The  demands  on  him  in  the  Sunday-school 
sphere  for  a  part  in  convention  and  institute  ex- 
ercises multiplied  with  the  passing  years;  and  it 
was  wonderful  to  see  how  quietly  and  easily  he  re- 
sponded to  so  many  calls  without  neglecting  any 
business  interests  or  local  religious  duties.  At  one 
time  he  would  be  giving  counsel  and  illustrating 
methods  of  work  in  a  local  institute  in  a  remote 
country  neighborhood;  again  he  would  be  pre- 
siding or  making  an  address  at  a  county  conven- 
tion in  one  corner  of  the  state  or  another ;  then 
he  would  be  heard  at  a  gathering  of  superintend- 
ents, or  at  a  teachers'  association,  in  New  York 
city;  yet  again  he  would  be  the  presiding  officer 
at  a  Connecticut  state  convention,  or  his  influence 
would  be  recognized  in  the  deliberations  of  a  na- 
tional Sunday-school  gathering.  So  he  came  stead- 
ily into  prominence  as  one  of  the  leading  Sunday- 
school  workers  of  the  United  States. 

In  April,  1872,  Mr.  Haven  was  a  delegate  from 
Connecticut  at  the  fifth  National  Sunday-school 
Convention  at  Indianapolis.  There  the  chief  theme 
of  discussion  was  the  propriety  of  attempting  a 
plan  of  uniform  Bible  lessons  for  the  entire  coun- 
try. Whatever  persons  or  agencies  had  contrib- 
uted to  the  quickening  of  public  interest  in  this 
matter,  it  is  clear  that  God  had  prepared  the  hearts 
of  his  people  for  uniformity  in  the  study  of  his 
Word.  In  response  to  a  popular  demand  in  this 


SECTION  VI. 

Public 
Services. 


Institute 
and  conven- 
tion work. 


The  Indian- 
apolis con- 
vention. 


124 


A  Model  Superintendent. 


SECTION  VI 

Public 
Services. 


The  uniform- 
lesson  plan. 


The  Lesson 
Committee. 


direction,  the  leading  Sunday-school  publishers  had 
agreed  on  a  common  schedule  of  Bible  lessons  for 
the  year  1872.  The  experiment  thus  made  was  a 
success  beyond  the  anticipations  of  those  who  ar- 
ranged it.  The  advantages  of  uniformity,  and 
the  ease  of  adapting  the  same  portion  of  Scripture 
to  all  classes  in  the  Sunday-school,  were  soon  so 
apparent  that  the  desire  for  a  full  series  of  com- 
mon lessons  spread  rapidly  throughout  the  coun- 
try; and  the  Indianapolis  convention  felt  the 
pressure  unmistakably  for  a  plan  that  should  meet 
the  popular  want  in  this  regard. 

While  the  subject  was  under  discussion  in  the 
convention,  Mr.  Haven  spoke  earnestly  in  favor 
of  the  proposal  for  a  uniform-lesson  series.  He 
admitted  that  at  first  he  had  been  sceptical  on  this 
point ;  but  his  observations  during  the  past  few 
months  in  schools  East  and  West  had  removed  all 
doubt  as  to  the  desirableness  of  the  plan.  More- 
over, he  believed  that  poring  over  the  same  por- 
tion of  God's  Word  week  by  week  would  bring 
God's  people  into  closer  communion  ;  and  it  might 
be  that  God  was  to  answer  most  gloriously  the 
prayers  of  Christians  for  Christian  unity  through 
this  uniform-lesson  instrumentality. 

When  the  convention  had  voted  almost  unani- 
mously to  designate  a  committee  of  "  five  clergy- 
men and  five  laymen  to  select  a  course  of  Bible 
lessons  for  a  series  of  years  not  exceeding  seven," 


Work  on  the  Lesson  Committee. 


125 


which  lessons  should,  so  far  as  the  committee 
might  deem  possible,  "embrace  a  general  study  of 
the  whole  Bible,  alternating  between  the  Old  and 
New  Testaments,"  Mr.  Haven  was  appointed  a 
member  of  the  committee  to  nominate  the  new 
Lesson  Committee.  Subsequently,  at  the  request 
to  that  nominating  committee  of  leading  members 
of  his  own  denomination,  he  was  put  upon  the  Les- 
son Committee  at  its  original  appointment.  This 
gave  to  Mr.  Haven  a  place  of  largest  potency  and 
responsibility  in  connection  with  the  interests,  not 
of  the  Sunday-school  alone,  but  of  the  entire  Chris- 
tian church ;  for  out  of  the  labors  of  that  Lesson 
Committee  have  gone  forth  influences  for  the  im- 
pressing and  uplifting  of  the  membership  of  the 
church  of  Christ  such  as  have  resulted  from  no 
other  single  movement  since  the  days  of  the  Ref- 
ormation. 

Mr.  Haven  fully  realized  the  magnitude  and  im- 
portance of  the  interests  involved  in  his  new  ap- 
pointment. He  entered  upon  its  duties  prayer- 
fully and  with  studiousness.  He  was  not  content 
to  go  to  a  meeting  of  the  Lesson  Committee  mere- 
ly to  give  his  opinion  of  a  schedule  of  lessons  ar- 
ranged by  one  or  another  of  the  distinguished 
divines  of  that  committee.  He  set  himself  at 
preparing  a  plan  of  Bible  study,  and  selecting  les- 
sons for  each  Sunday  of  the  course,  as  if  he  alone 
had  it  to  do.  This  plan  of  his  had  its  part,  in 


SKCTION  VI. 

Public 
Services. 


A  new  call 
to  service. 


Faithfulness 
iu  service. 


126 


A  Model  Superintendent. 


Services 


Finding 
time  for 
every  duty. 


conjunction  with  other  plans  similarly  arranged  by 
other  members  of  the  committee,  in  the  final  ar- 
rangement of  the  admirable  series  of  International 
Lessons  for  the  first  seven  years'  course  from  1873 
to  1879,  inclusive. 

It  would  seem  as  if  Mr.  Haven  would  not  have 
found  time  for  such  an  elaborate  work  as  this,  with 
his  multiplied  business  interests  pressing  him  on 
every  side;  but  any  man  can  find  time,  or  can  take 
it,  for  whatever  he  feels  he  must  do  in  this  world. 
If  necessary,  Mr.  Haven  would  have  yielded  the 
cost  of  a  whaling-vessel,  or  a  year's  profits  of  the 
Alaska  seal-fisheries,  to  prepare  himself  for  a  meet- 
ing of  the  Lesson  Committee.  Yet  Mr.  Haven's 
business  did  not  suffer  from  his  attention  to  this 
wrork.  Duties  never  conflict.  At  the  time  of  the 
tenth  meeting  of  the  Lesson  Committee,  at  Chi- 
cago, in  the  early  summer  of  1875,  Mr.  Haven  was 
in  London.  He  then  cabled  his  greetings  to  his 
associates. 
Atlanta,  he  was  in  heaven. 


Before  their  next  and  final  meeting,  at 


Interest 
in  common 
schools. 


Mr.  Haven's  public  services  were,  however,  by 
no  means  restricted  to  Sunday-school  work.  In- 
deed, he  never  seemed  to  restrict  himself  to  any 
single  sphere  of  endeavor;  although  he  worked  in 
each  as  if  he  had  nothing  to  do  elsewhere.  In 
behalf  of  secular  education  he  was  active  both  at 
home  and  abroad.  He  was  the  originator  in  New 


Work  in  Benevolent  Societies. 


127 


London  of  evening  schools,  for  the  benefit  of  those 
whose  occupations  forbade  their  attendance  at  the 
public  day  schools.  He  was  chairman  of  the  Board 
of  Education  of  his  city,  and  discharged  faithfully 
the  onerous  duties  of  that  trust.  He  was  a  zeal- 
ous friend  of,  and  worker  for,  the  State  Normal 
School  through  its  varied  vicissitudes.  He  was, 
moreover,  an  active  participant  in  teachers'  insti- 
tutes throughout  the  state.  Together  with  such 
men  as  President  Noah  Porter,  Professor  —  now 
President  —  Daniel  C.  Gilman,  Professor  B.  G. 
Northrop,  and  other  distinguished  educators,  he 
assisted  in  a  canvass  of  his  state  again  and  again 
in  the  interests  of  popular  education  ;  and  he  had 
no  unimportant  part  in  raising  the  standard  of 
teaching  in  the  public  schools,  in  city  and  in  coun- 
try, in  Connecticut. 

In  connection  with  many  of  the  great  benevo- 
lent societies  of  the  country,  Mr.  Haven  did  good 
service  in  his  local  field  and  in  the  general  one. 
To  hear  one  of  his  detailed  annual  reports  as 
secretary  of  the  New  London  County  Foreign 
Missionary  Association,  auxiliary  to  the  American 
Board  of  Commissioners  for  Foreign  Missions,  one 
would  think  that  he  had  little  else  to  do  than  to  at- 
tend to  the  duties  of  that  position.  But  the  Amer- 
ican Board  itself  confided  in  him  for  counsel,  and 
looked  to  him  for  active  service,  as  one  of  its  val- 


SKCTION  VI. 

Public 
Services. 


Promoting 
educational 
interests. 


Serving  the 
societies. 


128 


A  Model  Superintendent. 


SKOTION  vi.  ue(|  an(j  gfgyient  corporate  members,  with  no  un- 

Public 
Services. 


Official 
connections. 


In  denomi- 
national 
councils. 


important  place  on  the  committees  of  its  annual 
sessions.  He  was  a  vice-president  of  the  Ameri- 
can Sunday-school  Union,  of  the  American  Bible 
Society,  and  of  the  American  Tract  Society ;  and 
neither  of  these  organizations  counted  his  official 
connection  with  it  merely  a  nominal  and  honorary 
one.  He  was  ready  to  give  to,  and  to  work  for, 
either  of  them  at  its  call.  He  was  the  very  fore- 
front of  the  Systematic  Beneficence  Society.  Of 
the  American  College  and  Education  Society  he 
was  the  honored  president  at  the  time  of  his  death. 
And  in  every  such  station  he  recognized  the  re- 
sponsibilities rather  than  the  honors  of  the  posi- 
tion ;  valuing  it  for  what  it  enabled  him  to  do, 
rather  than  for  what  it  might  do  for  him. 

In  the  county,  the  state,  and  the  national  confer- 
ences and  councils  of  the  Congregational  churches, 
Mr.  Haven  was  for  years  a  felt  and  recognized 
power;  hardly  less  so  in  the  deliberations  of  the 
national  gatherings  than  in  those  of  his  own  coun- 
ty. In  October,  1875,  he  was  a  representative,  to- 
gether with  the  Rev.  Dr.  Joseph  P.  Thompson,  of 
the  Xational  Council,  at  the  Congregational  Union 
of  England  and  Wales,  at  its  annual  meeting  in 
London.  His  brief  and  fitting  address  on  that 
occasion  illustrates  his  spirit  and  style  as  a  speak- 
er, and  is  therefore  worthy  of  reproduction  here. 


Address  in  London. 


Speaking  for  himself   and  for  his   associate,  he 
said: 

"More  than  three  thousand  churches  of  the  same 
faith  and  order  send  through  us  to-day,  to  you,  the 
Congregational  Union  of  England  and  Wales,  their 
formal  Christian  greetings. 

"Two  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago,  just  at  this 
time  of  the  year,  the  Mayflower,  with  her  precious 
freight,  crossed  the  stormy  Atlantic  and  reached 
the  New  England  coast.  That  was  precious  seed 
she  carried — those  noble  men  and  women,  who, 
voluntary  exiles  from  this  land,  were  permitted  to 
carry  out  the  ideas  which  they  had  so  long  cher- 
ished on  that  distant  shore.  There  they  planted  'a 
church  without  a  bishop,'  and  there  they  founded 
'a  state  without  a  king.'  God  blessed  and  pros- 
pered them. 

"  I  claim  not  that  our  forty  millions  of  people 
have  all  descended  from  that  little  band  of  Pil- 
grims; but  I  do  claim  that  the  three  thousand 
Congregational  churches  which  my  brother,  Dr. 
Thompson,  and  myself  represent  before  you  to- 
day are  all  the  fruits  of  that  precious  seed.  I 
claim  that  the  principles  which  were  imbibed  on 
these  shores  of  Old  England,  and  which  were  ex- 
ported, and  which  lost  not  in  the  exportation,  have 
done  great  things  not  only  for  us,  but  for  you  and 
for  the  world.  I  claim  that  the  influences  of  those 
principles  of  freedom  which  were  carried  with  that 


SECTION  VI. 

Public 
Services. 


Greetings 

from 

America. 


The 

Mayflower. 


Influence 
of  the 
Piljn-ims. 


130 


A  Model  Superintendent. 


SECTION  VI. 

Public 
Services. 


Church 
extension. 


Contribu- 
tions to 
missions. 


Mayflower  across  the  ocean  have  many  of  them 
been  reflected  back,  and  England  is  not  now  what 
she  was  two  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago. 

"If  you  should  land  on  our  shores,  at  one  of 
our  great  eastern  cities,  and  take  the  swift  railway 
train  which  runs  for  three  thousand  miles  to  the 
shores  of  the  Pacific,  as  you  passed  over  the  moun- 
tains eight  thousand  feet  high,  as  you  crossed  those 
rivers  and  went  through  those  valleys,  in  every 
town  where  there  is  any  considerable  population 
you  would  find  a  Congregational  church.  We  are 
not  obliged  to  ask  any  bishop  where  we  shall  go. 
We  only  seek  directions  from  God's  Holy  Word; 
and  we  believe  that  we  plant  in  their  purity  the 
institutions  of  the  Christian  religion.  When  a 
place  of  worship  is  needed  in  one  of  these  distant 
towns,  the  brethren  gather  themselves  together 
and  contribute  what  they  can.  They  then  send 
word  to  our  richer  eastern  churches ;  and  our  peo- 
ple at  Boston  always  stand  ready  to  give  them  five 
hundred  dollars  to  wipe  out  their  debt  when  they 
have  completed  the  house  of  God. 

"  Our  Congregational  churches,  three  thousand 
in  number,  are  now  contributing  annually  five 
millions  of  dollars  to  the  support  of  our  mission- 
aries in  heathen  countries,  while  more  than  that 
amount  is  raised  for  our  home  missions.  God  has 
blessed  us,  and  made  us  to  grow,  because  we  have 
been  willing  to  give ;  for  we  remember  that,  as 


Duties  of  Citizenship. 


131 


the  Old  Book  says,  '  There  is  that  scattereth  and 
yet  increaseth ;  and  there  is  that  withholdeth  more 
than  is  meet,  and  it  tendeth  to  poverty.' 

"  Having  now  for  the  first  time  the  privilege  of 
speaking  to  a  British  audience,  I  cannot  sit  down 
without  paying  an  humble  tribute  to  the  noble 
woman  who  sits  in  the  chair  of  this  state.  You 
are  aware  that  once  every  four  years  we  choose 
our  chief  magistrate ;  now,  if  anything  could  rec- 
oncile me  to  a  different  state  of  things,  it  would 
that  I  settled  in  a  country  and  under  a  govern- 
ment where  Queen  Victoria  reigned. 

"I  rejoice  in  the  progress  that  your  country  has 
made,  especially  in  the  cause  of  peace.  I  trust  that 
your  great  nation  will  join  hands  with  the  Ameri- 
can nation  to  work  together  for  the  progress  of 
Christianization  and  of  civilization  until  the  whole 
world  shall  be  brought  to  acknowledge  as  the  one 
sovereign  Him  whose  right  it  is  to  reign,  and  who 
shall  reign  until  all  the  nations  shall  be  brought  to 
his  feet." 


Mr.  Haven  did  not  neglect  his  duties  as  a  citi- 
zen. He  wras  too  good  a  man  for  that.  Living 
under  a  government  which  makes  its  citizens  re- 
sponsible for  its  policy,  its  administration,  and  its 
very  nature  and  character,  he  could  never  have 
been  a  model  superintendent  if  he  had  ignored  or 
shirked  his  share  in  making  that  government  what 


SECTION  VI. 

PuMic 
Services. 


To  the 
Queen. 


Union  and 
progress. 


As 

citizen. 


132 


A  Model  /Superintendent. 


SECTION  VI 

Public 
Services. 


Bearing 

a  part 

in  politics. 


Holding 
civil  office. 


it  ought  to  be.  He  not  only  had  political  opinions 
and  expressed  them,  but  he  was  as  ready  to  ren- 
der unto  Caesar  all  the  service  which  belonged  to 
Caesar  as  he  was  to  render  unto  his  neighbor,  his 
church,  or  his  God  the  service  which  either  had  a 
right  to  demand  of  him.  He  counted  it  his  duty 
to  vote  at  local  elections  and  at  general  ones;  to 
respond  on  occasions  to  the  call  for  jury  service ; 
to  contribute  of  his  means  for  the  proper  canvass 
of  the  community,  in  behalf  of  the  interests  of 
good  government,  before  any  important  election; 
and  to  accept  public  office  when  it  was  tendered  to 
him.  His  course  in  all  this  was  another  proof  of 
the  falsity  of  the  common  assertion,  that  the  best 
citizens  of  the  United  States  are  not  ready  to  bear 
a  part  in  politics.  No  man  is  entitled  to  be  count- 
ed among  the  best  citizens  if  he  lacks  this  readi- 
ness. 

For  a  time,  Mr.  Haven  was  mayor  of  his  city. 
Again,  he  represented  his  town  in  the  Legislature 
of  his  state.  In  1873  he  was  the  Republican  can- 
didate for  governor  of  Connecticut.  This  last- 
named  experience  proved  no  small  personal  trial 
to  him.  It  gave  him  a  new  disclosure  of  the  se- 
verity and  unfairness  of  partisan  warfare  in  the 
average  political  contest.  Questions  of  locality, 
and  personal  differences  among  leading  politicians 
in  his  party,  had  entered  into  the  strife  for  the 
gubernatorial  nomination,  and  these  continued  to 


Partisan  Unfairness. 


133 


manifest  themselves  unpleasantly  throughout  the 
canvass.  Mr.  Haven  had  looked  for  opposition, 
but  he  had  not  expected  to  be  vilified  and  slan- 
dered by  any  who  knew  him  well,  and  before 
whom  he  had  maintained  a  consistent  Christian 
walk  from  his  boyhood. 

Writing  on  this  subject  to  a  friend  just  before 
the  election  took  place,  he  referred  to  his  troubles 
of  mind,  and  to  the  help  in  bearing  them  which 
had  come  through  the  notes  written  by  that  friend 
on  the  Sunday-school  lesson  for  the  week,  of  "Jacob 
at  Bethel."  "At  my  desk  studying,  with  a  smart 
of  many  malicious  lies  that  came  to  my  knowledge 
yesterdaj7  afternoon,  I  have  read  your  notes  on  our 
lesson.  They  have  been  very  sweet  and  precious 
to  me;  and  I  feel  that  I  must  say  so.  I  have  noted 
especially  your  words,  '  It  is  just  where  the  night 
seems  darkest,  and  the  stone  pillow  hardest,  that 
the  eye  of  faith  shall  see  "  heaven  open,  and  the 
angels  of  God  ascending  and  descending  upon  the 
Son  of  man."  It  is  there  that  the  trusting  child  of 
God  will  rise  up  out  of  his  sleep  to  say  with  Jacob 
at  Bethel,  "  Surely  the  Lord  is  in  this  place,  and  I 
knew  it  not." '  I  suppose  it  is  weak  and  foolish  to 
regard  or  care  for  what  is  said ;  but  right  here  in 
my  own  community,  where  I  fain  would  believe 
that  I  have  honestly,  in  the  fear  of  God,  tried  to 
serve  my  generation,  to  have  abominable  false- 
hoods not  only  circulated  (as  when  a  citizen  here 


SECTION  VI. 

Public 

Services. 


Com  fort 

under 

slanders. 


134:                           A  Model  Superintendent. 

SECTION  VI. 
Public 

says  that  he  will  not  vote  for  a  man  who  sends  out 

Services. 

his  ships  loaded  with  tracts  on  deck  and  mm  in 

the  hold),  but  to  have  respectable  people  believe 

them,  is  to  me  a  trial  ;  and  the  name  of  these  lies 

is  legion.     However,  I  feel  stronger  for  the  pre- 

cious truths  of  this  lesson  ;    and  with  these  few 

lines  I  will  go  back  to  my  studies." 

Beiug 
weighed 

On  the  morning  of  election-day,  Monday.  April 

in  the 
balances. 

7,  Mr.  Haven   wrote   once   more   to   his  friend  : 

"To-day  I  pass  before  the  one  hundred  thousand 

voters  of  this  state,  and  each  one  decides  individ- 

ually whether  he  wishes  me  to  be  the  governor. 

Thus  my  fellow-men  to-day  weigh  me  and  judge 

me.    St.  Paul  says,  it  is  a  small  thing  to  be  judged 

of  man's  judgment.     When  the  Lord  weighs  me 

in  his  balances,  may  I  not  be  found  wanting  !     I 

usually  select  in  the  morning  before  I  rise,  or  soon 

after,  some  verse,  or  part  of  a  verse,  as  my  motto 

for  the  day.     This  morning  I  took  'All  things 

work  together  for  good  to  them  that  love  God;' 

and,  as  I  love  God,  I  want  to  take  this  promise  to 

my  soul  and  feed  on  it  to-day.     My  prayer  this 

morning  was,  '  Give  me  grace  and  strength  to  per- 

form my  duties  if  I  am  elected,  and  perfect  resig- 

nation if  I  am  defeated.'    I  feel  less  of  interest  or 

excitement  over  the  result  than  I  expected  as  the 

time  comes  on,  and  think  sincerely  that  I  have 

many  friends  in  the  state  who  will  be  much  more 

severely  disappointed  than  I  shall  be.    The  severe 

Reproached  for  Christ's  Sake. 


135 


things  said  about  me,  I  think,  do  not  now  disturb 
me.  So  far  as  I  can  judge,  I  entertain  no  hard  or 
unkind  feelings  towards  any  one  who  lias  tried  tc 
injure  me.  I  enjoyed  my  Sunday-school  work 
yesterday,  speaking  in  both  schools,  and  had  some 
pleasant  thoughts  in  connection  with  the  lesson, 
'  Israel,  the  New  Name,'  and  the  words  of  Jacob, 
'  I  will  not  let  thee  go  except  thou  bless  me.'  " 

Mr.  Haven,  with  all  his  associates  on  the  state 
ticket,  was  defeated.  Of  course,  he  bore  his  defeat 
manfully.  "  You  need  not  fear,"  he  wrote  to  his 
friend,  "that  I  shall  whine  or  murmur;  but  I  want 
you  to  pray  that  I  may  have  grace  enough  inward- 
ly to  accept  the  result  with  all  the  cheerfulness 
that  I  should  have  shown  had  it  been  reversed." 

One  of  the  prominent  objections  urged  against 
Mr.  Haven  in  the  gubernatorial  canvass  was  his 
activity  in  Christian  work.  His  connection  with 
Sunday -schools  was  at  that  time  the  subject  of 
many  a  sneer  on  the  platform  and  in  the  partisan 
press.  But  this  only  brought  home  more  closely  to 
him  the  words  of  his  Divine  Master,  "  Blessed  are 
ye  when  men  shall  revile  you, . . .  and  shall  say  all 
manner  of  evil  against  you  falsely,  for  my  sake." 
"It  is  enough  for  the  disciple  that  he  be  as  his 
master,  and  the  servant  as  his  lord.  If  they  have 
called  the  master  of  the  house  Beelzebub,  how 
much  more  shall  they  call  them  of  his  house- 
hold?" 


SECTION  VI. 
Public 

Service*. 


Defeated. 


Sneered  at 


136 


A  Model  Superintendent. 


SECTION  VI 

Public 

Services. 


Approved. 


Sure  it  is  that  Mr.  Haven's  defeat  in  that  can- 
vass was  one  of  the  influences  which  brought  him 
yet  closer  to  his  Saviour  in  the  latest  years  of  his 
earthly  life ;  was  one  of  the  things  which  worked 
together  for  good  to  him  as  a  loved  child  of  God. 
And  sure,  also,  it  is  that  not  the  least  among  his 
many  and  varied  public  services  was  his  repre- 
senting his  party  as  a  candidate  for  the  highest 
office  in  the  gift  of  his  state  when  he  was  asked 
to  do  so. 


Christian  Stewardship. 


137 


VII. 

BENEFICENCES. 

Christian  Stewardship ;  Systematic  Giving;  Enjoying  Self-denial; 
Fidelity  Tested;  Provoking  Others  to  Good  Works;  Giving  by 
Proxy ;  A  Providential  Donation  ;  Increasing  the  Ministry ; 
Posthumous  Charities. 

No  characteristic  of  Mr.  Haven  was  more  mark- 
ed in  all  his  Christian  life  than  his  counting  him- 
self the  Lord's  steward,  responsible  to  his  Master 
for  the  wise  use  or  for  the  instant  surrender  of  all 
his  possessions,  according  to  the  providential  calls 
on  him.  He  was  not  foolish  enough  to  suppose 
that  he  "  made  money."  He  knew  that  the  silver 
and  the  gold  were  the  Lord's,  and  that  the  Lord 
alone  gave  "  power  to  get  wealth."  He  knew  also 
that  the  Lord  who  gave  had  the  power  to  take 
away,  and  that,  at  the  utmost,  riches  were  but  a 
trust  from  the  Lord  to  be  accounted  for  strictly 
and  sacredly.  Hence,  from  the  beginning  of  his 
discipleship,  he  sought  to  honor  the  Lord  with  his 
substance,  and  stood  ready  to  respond  to  any  sum- 
mons from  the  Lord  for  the  bestowal  of  his  in- 
come or  of  his  accrued  capital. 

Earlv  in  his  business  life  Mr.  Haven  formed  a 


SECTION  VII. 
Beneficences. 


Not  his 
own. 


138 


A  Model  /Superintendent. 


SECTION  VII. 
Beneficences 


A  plan  of 
giving. 


Avoiding 
ostentation. 


plan  of  systematic  giving  somewhat  after  the  pat- 
tern of  the  patriarch  Jacob's,  although  with  a  slid- 
ing scale  which  was  an  improvement  on  the  ar- 
rangement promised  at  Bethel.  He  resolved  to 
give  a  certain  percentage  of  his  net  income  until 
his  accumulations  should  reach  a  predesignated 
sum.  As  his  property  should  increase  he  was  to 
increase  the  percentage  of  his  charities.  This 
progress  in  giving  was  to  go  on  until  not  one 
tenth  merely,  but  one  fourth,  and  then  one  half, 
and,  finally,  the  whole  of  his  net  income  should  be 
devoted  to  beneficences.  All  this  was  resolved  on 
before  he  had  any  accumulations  wrorthy  of  men- 
tion ;  and  it  was  adhered  to  faithfully  for  a  long 
series  of  years — indeed,  until  the  close  of  his  life, 
except  with  such  modifications  as  became  neces- 
sary to  enable  him  the  better  to  carry  out  the 
spirit  of  his  resolve,  instead  of  being  tied  too 
closely  by  its  letter. 

As  he  was  increasingly  prospered  in  business,  he 
gave  more  and  more  largely,  until  his  benefac- 
tions were  so  extensive  that  he  felt  the  necessity 
of  guarding  against  the  appearance  of  ostentation 
in  giving.  To  meet  this  danger,  he  would  some- 
times subscribe  as  liberally  to  a  church  contribu- 
tion as  would  be  generally  expected  of  him,  and 
then  would  send  anonymously  a  much  larger  sum 
to  the  treasury  of  the  cause  represented.  In  this 
way  his  influence  was  not  withheld  from  the  ob- 


Giving  Persistently. 


139 


ject  presented,  while  his  gifts  called  no  special  at- 
tention to  himself  as  a  giver. 

Because  so  large  a  share  of  his  income  was  de- 
voted to  charities,  it  came  to  be  very  easy  for  Mr. 
Haven  to  give.  Indeed  it  was  so  easy  that,  with 
his  sensitive  conscience,  he  began  to  be  troubled 
because  he  was  not  more  troubled.  He  was  afraid 
there  was  no  self-denial  in  his  largest  benefactions. 
On  one  occasion  he  came  to  the  writer  of  this 
sketch  to  talk  this  subject  over  in  seriousness.  He 
said  that  he  found  so  much  enjoyment  in  giving 
that  it  seemed  to  him  there  was  no  grace  in  his  be- 
nevolence. The  delight  in  the  exercise  took  away 
all  possibility  of  merit.  The  writer's  response 
to  this  complaint  was,  that  if  Mr.  Haven  really 
thought  it  was  wrong  to  find  satisfaction  in  doing 
God  service,  he  had  better  seek  meritorious  dis- 
comfort in  refusing  obedience ;  that,  for  instance, 
when  he  saw  a  needy  widow  and  children,  or  be- 
came acquainted  with  the  wants  of  struggling  stu- 
dents, and  had  the  means  at  hand  for  their  relief, 
he  might  let  the  poor  ones  suffer  because  it  would 
be  such  a  pleasure  to  him  to  give  them  relief.  As 
Mr.  Haven  was  not  ready  to  adopt  this  recourse, 
his  friend  suggested  that  possibly  he  was  not  called 
to  reject  Christ's  yoke  merely  because  it  proved 
"easy,"  nor  to  throw  off  Christ's  burden  because 
through  grace  he  found  it  to  be  "  light." 

Mr.  Haven's  giving  became  a  fixed  habit  —  a 
10 


SECTION  VII. 
Beneficences. 


Enjoying 
self-denial. 


Seekinjr 
discomfort. 


140 


SKOTION  VII. 
Beneficences. 


A  Model  Superintendent. 


Calls  on  his 
ciipital. 


Helping 
others  to 
help  them- 
selves. 


habit  that  was  not  dependent  on  the  consciousness 
of  large  means  already  devoted  to  charities.  When 
he  had  been  in  business  twenty  years  or  more,  and 
his  accumulated  property  had  reached  the  limit 
originally  set  for  it,  financial  stress  reduced  his 
income  materially.  His  annual  receipts  were  for 
a  time  insufficient  to  meet  his  ordinary  expenses. 
But  this  was  not  a  sufficient  excuse  for  him  to  re- 
frain from  giving.  Not  merely  his  surplus  funds, 
but  all  his  possessions,  were  the  Lord's.  This  he 
recognized.  He  did  not  close  his  hand  against  the 
needy,  nor  his  heart  against  the  Giver  of  all  good, 
while  he  had  anything  with  which  to  respond  to  a 
call  of  chanty.  He  continued  to  give  steadily  and 
liberally,  although  his  benefactions  constantly  di- 
minished his  already  very  moderate  capital.  After 
a  year  or  two,  having  apparently  thus  tested  him 
sufficiently,  God  gave  him  renewed  and  increased 
prosperity,  whereby  larger  means  than  ever  were 
at  his  disposal  in  his  Master's  service. 

Mr.  Haven's  methods  of  giving  were  as  judi- 
cious as  they  were  modest.  lie  recognized  the 
danger  of  taking  off  from  others  a  sense  of  re- 
sponsibility to  help  themselves;  and  he  guarded 
against  this  danger  by  encouraging  and  aiding  the 
objects  of  his  charity  to  lift  any  financial  burden 
which  they  ought  to  carry,  instead  of  taking  that 
burden  absolutely  on  his  own  shoulders.  Whether 
it  were  an  individual  or  a  church  or  Sunday-school 


Co-work  in  Beneficence. 


which  he  would  aid,  he  took  pains  to  so  give  as 
would  lead  others  to  give  also.  By  this  means  the 
more  he  gave,  the  more  there  was  of  good  giving 
on  the  part  of  those  whom  he  helped.  It  is  too 
often  the  case  that  a  generous  giver  in  church  col- 
lections enables  those  who  give  little  or  nothing 
to  boast  of  the  aggregate  benefactions  of  their 
church,  and  to  soothe  their  consciences,  under  a 
sense  of  their  own  stinginess,  with  the  comforting 
comment,  "After  all,  our  church  does  pretty  well 
in  its  contributions,  considering  there  are  so  few 
rich  men  in  its  membership."  And,  again,  there 
are  Sunday-schools  or  individuals  rendered  slug- 
gish, if  not  actually  paralyzed,  by  outright  gifts  to 
the  full  amount  of  their  immediate  needs,  when 
they  might  have  been  quickened  into  new  life  by  a 
stimulated  effort  to  do  something  for  themselves. 
Mr.  Haven's  gifts  were  never  alloyed  by  these  ele- 
ments of  evil.  If  he  gave  more  than  his  judicious 
share  to  the  object  of  any  church  collection,  he 
gave  the  surplus  anonymously  and  outside  of  the 
church  contribution  ;  and  in  every  exercise  of  be- 
neficence he  was  as  careful  not  to  give  too  much 
as  he  was  to  give  cheerfully;  "moreover,  he  was 
always  seeking  to  provoke  others  to  well-doing 
through  his  timely  donations. 

One  of  his  favorite  captains,  who  was  successful 
in  business  and  open-handed  in  generosity,  tells  of 
Mr.  Haven's  habit  of  calling  on  him  to  aid  in  be- 


SEOTION  VII. 
Beneficences 


A  cover  to 
stinginess. 


Lifting 
together. 


142 


A  Model  /Superintendent. 


SECTION  VJI. 
Beneficences. 


Another 
lift. 


Giving  by 
proxy. 


nevolent  enterprises  which  had  won  his  sympathy; 
and,  again,  of  his  readiness  to  respond  to  any  like 
call  on  him  from  the  captain.  A  little  mission 
chapel  was  to  be  built  in  their  city.  Mr.  Haven 
subscribed  to  the  fund  generously,  but  not  so  as  to 
monopolize  the  giving.  As  the  captain  referred  to 
was  closing  up  the  profits  of  one  of  his  voyages, 
Mr.  Haven  said  he  wanted  some  help  from  him  for 
this  chapel.  "All  right,"  said  the  captain,  "how 
much  shall  it  be?"  "Well,"  said  Mr.  Haven,  "I 
want  quite  a  lift  from  you.  I  want  two  hundred 
and  fifty  dollars."  Promptly  this  donation  was 
made.  Some  months  after  it  was  found  that  the 
subscription  still  dragged.  "I  think  you  and  I 
must  give  that  chapel  another  lift,"  said  Mr.  Ha- 
ven. "About  how  much  from  me  this  time?" 
asked  the  captain.  "I  should  say  a  hundred  dol- 
lars would  be  about  right,"  was  the  response.  And 
that  sum  also  was  cheerfully  given.  Again,  the 
captain  told  Mr.  Haven  of  a  worthy  object  of  be- 
nevolence, and  asked  his  aid  in  it.  "By  all  means," 
said  Mr.  Haven,  heartily,  "  I  want  a  timber-head 
in  every  ship."  And  this  is  only  one  illustration 
out  of  many  of  the  way  in  which  Mr.  Haven  pro- 
moted good  giving  as  well  as  practised  it,  in  evi- 
dence that  his  judgment  kept  watch  over  his  gen- 
erosity. 

Giving  thus  carefully  as  well  as  extensively,  Mr. 
Haven  often  sought  the  aid  of  friends  in  applying 


Providential  Charity. 


143 


his  benefactions.  No  one  person  knew  how  much 
he  gave,  or  in  how  many  directions ;  but  many 
persons  knew  that  he  was  always  ready  to  give 
through  them  to  charities  in  which  they  were 
specially  interested.  For  years  the  writer  of  this 
sketch  had  carte-Blanche  from  Mr.  Haven  to  make 
any  donation  for  him  which  the  writer  supposed 
Mr.  Haven  would  make  if  he  were  present,  in  an 
urgent  case  of  charity  which  could  not  be  laid  be- 
fore him  in  advance.  And  if  this  agent  in  giving 
did  not  call  with  sufficient  frequency  on  his  prin- 
cipal for  donations,  he  was  quite  likely  to  be  in- 
quired of  for  new  objects  of  beneficence. 

A  single  illustration  will  show  how  this  for- 
wardness of  a  Christian  steward  to  respond  to  ev- 
ery providential  call  on  him  for  a  portion  of  his 
substance  co-worked  with  the  prayers  and  needs 
of  God's  children  elsewhere.  A  young  theological 
graduate  called  on  the  writer  for  information  as  to 
routes  to  California.  In  the  course  of  the  conver- 
sation, it  came  out  that  the  young  man  was  pecul- 
iarly living  a  life  of  faith.  Without  means  for 
an  education,  he  had,  ten  years  before,  consecrated 
himself  to  the  Christian  ministry,  and  entered  on 
a  course  of  study  accordingly.  Aided  of  God,  step 
by  step,  in  answer  to  the  prayer  of  faith,  he  had— 
without  shiftlessness  and  without  lack  —  passed 
through  the  academy,  the  college,  and  the  theolog- 
ical seminary,  and  was  now  to  start  for  the  Pacific 


SECTION  VII. 
Beneficences. 


Answering 
prayers  un- 
cousciously. 


144 


A  Model  Superintendent. 


Looking  up 
charities. 


Beneficences 'I  s^°Pe  ^or  an  unattractive  home-missionary  field  in 
the  interior  of  California.  He  had  not  yet  the 
money  for  his  passage,  but  he  had  no  concern  on 
that  point ;  for  he  was  sure  that  the  Lord,  who  had 
supplied  all  his  need  thus  far,  would  not  leave  him 
in  want — to-morrow.  He  asked  no  assistance,  nor 
did  he  even  tell  his  story  of  want,  save  as  it  came 
out  in  answer  to  questions.  He  was,  however, 
promptly  given  some  assistance  by  the  one  who 
now  learned  the  facts  in  the  case ;  and  he  went  on 
his  way  rejoicing  and  trusting. 

Up  to  this  point  there  was  no  thought  of  Mr. 
Haven  in  the  affair.  But  just  as  the  writer  began 
to  feel  that  he  ought  to  be  the  means  of  doing 
more  for  that  child  of  God  than  his  personal  pos- 
sessions warranted,  there  came  to  him  a  friendly 
note  from  Mr.  Haven,  with  a  postscript  of  this 
sort :  "  Do  you  know  of  any  young  man  to  whom 
I  ought  to  give  twenty-five  dollars  just  now?" 
The  response  to  this  inquiry  was  immediate,  "Yes, 
I  do  know  the  man  you  want  to  help."  And  the 
name  and'  story  of  the  home  missionary,  just  off 
for  his  new  field,  were  given.  Promptly  there 
came  from  Mr.  Haven  a  draft  for  the  sum  named, 
and,  as  the  money  was  to  be  used  in  California,  the 
draft  was  made  payable  in  gold.  The  donation 
was  forwarded  to  California,  and  in  acknowledg- 
ing its  receipt  the  young  missionary  wrote: 

"  The  gift  was,  as  you  may  suppose,  entirely  un- 


A  welcome 
gift. 


J 


Aiding  Young  Men. 


145 


expected,  but  none  the  less  welcome,  as  I  will  show   SKOTION  vn- 

1  '  _  '  Beiieflceucea. 

you.  I  arrived  here  safely  some  three  weeks  ago; 
but  when  my  bills  wrere  all  paid,  my  cash  was 
pretty  low.  My  parish  is  a  widely  scattered  one, 
and  every  one  said,  'You  must  get  you  a  horse.'  A»H>I>O 

J  °        J  wanteti. 

(Everybody  rides  horseback  here,  and,  as  horses 
are  very  cheap  here,  they  probably  never  dreamed 
but  that  I  could  buy  one  as  wrell  as  not.)  I  deter- 
mined to  get  one  when  my  first  quarter's  salary 
became  due ;  but  meanwhile,  for  three  months,  I 
should  have  to  go  afoot,  and  it  is  very  warm  and 
dusty  walking  hjere.  The  very  day  your  letter 
came,  the  leading  man  of  the  place  had  been  say- 
ing that  I  ought  to  have  a  horse,  and  he  thought 
he  had  just  the  one  for  me,  a  very  promising  colt, 
just  broken  to  the  saddle,  safe,  pretty,  fast,  and 
good-natured.  He  would  let  me  have  her  for 
twenty-five  dollars.  When  I  opened  your  letter 
and  saw  a  gold-check  for  just  that  amount,  you 
may  believe  that  I  thought  of  the  saying,  '  The 
lines  of  God's  providence  run  double.'  The  next 
day  I  went  and  tried  the  pony,  and  I  like  her  very 
much." 

Such  evidences  as  this  that  his  giving  was  with- 
in the  double  lines  of  God's  providence  were  a 
source  of  peculiar  gratification  to  Mr.  Haven  ;  and 
he  had  no  lack  of  this  kind  of  proof  that  God  rec- 
ognized and  honored  his  beneficences. 

Aiding  young  men  by  counsel  and  pecuniary  as- 


Providc 


A  Model  /Superintendent. 


SKCTION  VII. 
Beneficences. 


Helping  into 
theniinisti-y. 


Finding  the 
man. 


sistance  was  a  favorite  method  of  well-doino-  with 

O 

Mr.  Haven.  He  was  always  on  the  lookout  for 
opportunities  in  this  line.  Again  and  again  he 
gave  generously  to  start  a  young  man  in  some 
business  enterprise  in  his  city  or  abroad ;  and  his 
sympathy  and  sound  advice  were  often  of  as  much 
importance  at  such  a  time  as  the  funds  he  fur- 
nished. But  the  line  of  charitable  giving  and  do- 
ing which  Mr.  Haven  loved  best,  and  along  which, 
perhaps,  he  did  most  in  an  extended  series  of  years, 
was  in  the  direction  of  helping  young  men  into  the 
gospel  ministry.  He  had  himself  been  the  gainer 
from  ten  dollars  of  borrowed  money  to  meet  his 
early  schoolboy  bills ;  and  he  realized  how  valua- 
ble a  little  timely  aid  might  be  to  a  poor  student. 
Moreover,  if  the  student  could  thus  be  helped  tow- 
ards the  ministry,  the  service  \vas,  in  Mr.  Haven's 
view,  of  the  highest  importance.  The  very  first 
money  he  ever  gave  away  was  in  aid  of  a  theolog- 
ical student.  This  was  while  he  was  still  a  clerk. 
From  that  time  forward  he  continued  such  giving 
with  discrimination,  with  freedom,  and  with  heart- 
iness. 

He  would  find  a  young  man  in  his  Waterford 
Sunday-school  or  at  a  carpenter's  bench  or  a  black- 
smith's forge,  or  struggling  along  in  school  or  at 
college,  who  might,  in  his  opinion,  be  of  service  in 
the  ministry,  but  who  lacked  the  means  to  secure 
the  needful  training,  or  lacked  the  word  of  prompt- 


Setting  Others  at  Work. 


ins;  and  of  cheer  —  winch  is  often  of  much  more  SECTIONVI1- 

Beneficence* 


importance  than  money — to  induce  him  to  press 
forward  in  preparation  for  that  service.  Mr.  Ha- 
ven would  take  that  young  man  by  the  hand,  ques- 
tion him  kindly  as  to  his  purposes  and  desires, 
and  counsel  him  as  to  his  wiser  course.  He  would 
promise  such  aid  as,  in  his  judgment,  seemed  de- 
sirable to  bring  the  young  man  where  God  wanted 
him ;  nor  would  he  desert  that  case  until  the  at- 
tempted work  was  completed.  In  more  than  one 
or  two  instances  he  took  a  young  man  directly  into 
his  family,  and  gave  him  a  home  there  until  his 
preparatory  studies  were  completed.  He  wras  care- 
ful, however,  here,  as  in  all  his  charities,  to  do 
nothing  for  a  young  student  which  the  student 
ought  to  and  could  do  for  himself.  He  never  for- 
got that  he  was  doing  most  for  others  when  he 
was  stimulating  them  to  do  most  for  themselves. 

"I  remember  returning  from  church  one  Sun- 
day noon,  in  June,  1850,"  writes  a  clergyman,  who 
would  never  have  been  in  the  ministry  but  for  the 
prompting  to  it  of  which  he  thus  tells,  "  and  find- 
ing a  note  from  Mr.  Haven,  requesting  me  to  call 
at  his  house  before  one  o'clock,  as  at  that  hour  he 
started  for  his  Waterford  Sunday-school.  I  went 
up  to  his  house,  and  was  requested  to  go  and  gath- 
er together  and  then  take  charge  of  a  mission  Sun- 
day-school in  a  district  three  miles  off.  When  I 
expressed  astonishment  at  the  request,  inasmuch 


Giving  him 
a  houie. 


Calling  him 
by  name. 


148 


A  Model  /Superintendent. 


SECTION  VII. 
Beneficences. 


Within  one 
of  a  failure. 


One  arnoiu 
many. 


as  I  thought  that  the  superintendent  of  a  Sunday- 
school  should  be  one  of  age  and  experience,  he  re- 
plied that '  it  required  more  zeal  than  knowledge.' 
Thus  encouraged,  I  decided  to  go.  The  next  Sun- 
day Mr.  Haven  carried  me  out  to  my  mission  field, 
where  we  found  eight  or  ten  persons  assembled. 
For  eight  months  I  walked  to  that  school  in  all 
weather.  One  day,  owing  to  a  severe  storm,  I  found 
no  one  there  except  a  little  boy;  but  I  believe  that 
day's  effort  was  as  beneficial  to  the  school  as  any 
one  day's  work  I  did ;  for  I  heard  the  remark 
made  that  'Mr.  E.  must  be  in  earnest.'  A  new 
life  was  infused  into  the  school.  The  day  I  closed 
my  labors  there  the  school-house  was  filled  to  over- 
flowing. Eight  months  before  it  was  unpainted 
within  and  without.  That  day  it  was  painted  both 
without  and  within,  was  surrounded  by  shade  trees, 
and  in  other  respects  beautified.  One  day,  again, 
Mr.  Haven  called  upon  me  at  my  place  of  business, 
and  asked  me  to  take  a  walk.  He  then  inquired 
if  I  had  ever  thought  of  studying  for  the  ministry. 
I  told  him  of  many  thoughts  and  desires  on  the 
subject.  He  inquired  into  my  circumstances,  and 
kindly  urged  me  to  give  myself  to  the  work.  I 
followed  his  advice.  The  years  of  preparatory 
study  are  now  passed.  He  has  counselled,  encour- 
aged, and  assisted  me." 

This  young  man,  afterwards  a  useful  pastor  in 
New  England  and  in  the  far  West,  was  one  of 


llemsing  Charity  Plans. 


149 


more  than  sixty  individually  aided  into  the  Chris- 
tian ministry  by  the  benefactions  of  Mr.  Haven. 
At  one  time  he  had  twelve  such  students  on  his 
charity  list.  In  some  instances  he  gave  more  than 
two  thousand  dollars  towards  the  education  of  one 
young  man.  His  benefactions  in  this  line  were, 
in  the  aggregate,  very  large ;  and  the  investment 
thus  made  by  him  was  delightfully  remunerative. 
Ills  proteges  included  men  in  the  ministry  of  the 
Baptist,  Episcopal,  and  Methodist  churches,  as  well 
as  in  the  Congregational.  As  he  moved  about  the 
country,  he  was  meeting  them  pleasantly,  or  hear- 
ing of  their  good  work.  Through  their  efforts  he 
multiplied  himself  in  the  gospel  iield.  And  now 
that  he  has  entered  into  rest,  a  score  or  two  of  his 
representatives  are  continuing  the  labor  he  loved, 
and  at  which  they  were  set  through  his  counsel 
and  assistance. 

At  the  time  of  his  investing  in  the  Alaska  en- 
terprise, Mr.  Haven  was  compelled  to  look  anew 
at  the  terms  of  his  original  plan  of  devoting  his 
surplus  income  to  charities,  in  the  light  of  fresh 
business  demands  and  uncertainties.  It  was  not 
so  easy  as  before  to  settle  the  question  of  his  "  in- 
come " — as  that  term  had  been  understood  by  him 
when  he  made  his  first  resolve.  The  Alaska  lease 
was  for  twenty  years.  There  might  be  large  re- 
ceipts from  it  one  year,  and  large  demands  from 
it  the  next.  His  share  in  that  lease  imposed  on 


SECTION  VII. 
Beneficence*. 


Christian 

union. 


New  light 
on  dutv. 


150 


A  Model  Superintendent. 


SECTION  VII. 
Beneficences. 


Letter  or 
spirit  ? 


An  uncheck- 
ed flow. 


him  prospective  obligations,  of  an  undetermined 
amount,  which  he  could  not  honorably  evade.  Yet 
he  was  anxious  to  fulfil  to  the  utmost  his  pledge 
of  Christian  beneficence.  In  his  perplexity  he 
consulted,  at  least,  one  friend,  whose  judgment  he 
valued,  and  by  him  was  counselled  not  to  be  dis- 
turbed by  the  letter  of  a  mental  agreement,  when 

«•  O 

another  form  would  better  carry  out  its  spirit  and 
real  intent.  He  had  already  shown,  when  tested, 
that  he  was  willing  to  give  more  than  the  letter  of 
his  promise  called  for;  and  now  he  might  certain- 
ly rearrange  his  plan  of  giving,  to  conform  it  to 
his  new  circumstances  and  liabilities.  In  accept- 
ing his  friend's  council,  it  is  evident,  as  shown 
by  the  tenor  of  his  will,  that  Mr.  Haven  was  not 
disposed  to  shirk  any  obligations  of  stewardship. 
Giving  freely  while  he  lived,  he  provided  in  his 
will  for  the  retaining  of  his  estate  undivided  so 
long  as  the  Alaska  lease  should  run;  and,  mean- 
time, for  the  distribution  in  charities  of  a  liberal 
share  of  its  annual  income.  Moreover,  at  the  ter- 
mination of  that  lease,  a  handsome  portion  of  the 
entire  estate  is  to  go  to  objects  of  benevolence. 

Through  this  fidelity  to  the  spirit  of  his  original 
pledge  of  consecration,  Mr.  Haven  continued  a  lib- 
eral giver  to  good  causes  during  his  lifetime  ;  and 
now  that  he  has  passed  to  his  reward,  the  flow  of 
his  beneficence  is  still  unchecked.  Tens  of  thou- 
sands of  dollars  have  been  donated  in  his  name 


Aggregate  Charities. 


151 


since  his  decease  ;  and,  for  at  least  ten  years  more, 
this  giving  is  to  go  on  according  to  his  carefully 
arranged  plan.  His  "Waterford  Sunday-school,  his 
home  church,  his  New  London  week-day  schools, 
the  various  benevolent  societies  and  other  objects 
of  beneficence  which  he  was  accustomed  to  aid, 
still  receive  evidences  of  his  loving  interest  in 

CD 

their  welfare,  and  still  have  reason  to  bless  the 
memory  of  his  large-hearted,  open-handed  good- 
ness. 

To  all  human  appearance,  had  Mr.  Haven  chosen 
to  hoard  money  rather  than  to  distribute  it,  he 
might  easily  have  become  a  millionaire,  even  while 
giving  generously — according  to  the  average  rich 
man's  standard.  Then,  a  few  large  benefactions 
in  his  will  would  have  uplifted  his  name  as  one  of 
the  great  givers  of  his  generation.  But  he  pre- 
ferred to  lay  up  for  himself  treasures  in  heaven 
rather  than  upon  earth.  During  his  lifetime  his 
gifts  aggregated  an  amount  rarely  reached  by  a 
millionaire;  and  there  is  little  reason  for  suppos- 
ing that  he  now  regrets  having  made  this  use  of 
"  the  mammon  of  unrighteousness."  "  As  it  is 
written,  He  hath  dispersed  abroad  ;  he  hath  given 
to  the  poor:  his  righteousness  remaineth  forever." 


SECTION  VII. 

Beneflceiicef. 


Still  at  work. 


Giving 
better  than 
holding. 


152 


A  Model  Superintendent. 


SECTION  VIII, 
Character 

and 

Character- 
istics. 


YIIL 

CHARACTER  AND  CHARACTERISTICS. 

Character  in  Perspective ;  Power  of  Concentration ;  Power  of  Dis- 
connection ;  Power  of  Secretiveness ;  Attention  to  System;  Ge- 
niality and  Humor ;  Home  Traits ;  Love  of  the  Bible ;  Faith  in 
Sorrow ;  Faith  in  Danger  ;  Readiness  to  Forgive ;  Readiness  to 
Depart. 

To  know  the  completeness  and  symmetry  and 
the  true  attractiveness  of  Mr.  Haven's  character, 
it  is  necessary  to  look  at  that  character  in  perspec- 
tive, rather  than  to  consider  it  in  its  separate  de- 
tails. It  is  not  enough  to  observe  him  as  a  super- 
intendent, or  as  a  business  man,  or  as  a  public  ser- 
vant, or  as  a  Christian  steward.  He  must  be  view- 
ed in  his  entirety,  as  he  was  jn  himself,  and  as  he 
appeared  with  all  his  distinctive  characteristics, 
and  with  those  various  particular  traits  which  gave 
him  power  and  efficiency  in  the  one  sphere  or  an- 
other of  his  principal  activities,  blended  and  har- 
monized in  their  mutual  relations  and  adaptations; 
as,  in  fact,  he  was  best  known  in  his  immediate  fam- 
ily circle  and  among  his  more  intimate  friends  and 
acquaintances.  Until  he  is  seen  in  this  light  he  can- 
not be  rightly  understood  nor  fully  appreciated. 


Power  of  Disconnection. 


153 


Prominent  among  Mr.  Haven's  characteristics 
were  his  power  of  concentrating  all  his  thoughts 
and  energies  on  the  one  thing  lie  had  to  do  for  the 
time  being,  and  his  ability  to  turn  absolutely  from 
that  which  had  thus  absorbed  him  and  devote  him- 
self to  a  new  object  of  interest  or  duty  whenever 
the  occasion  demanded  such  a  transfer.  Many  a 
man  has  the  first  of  these  traits  without  having 
the  second.  Xo  man,  in  fact,  can  be  foremost  in 
any  department  of  life  or  do  anything  pre-emi- 
nently well  without  giving  himself  wholly  to  that 
thing  as  if  there  were  nothing  else  then  worth  liv- 
ing for.  He  must  be  a  whole  man  to  it,  and  do  it 
with  all  his  might,  or  it  will  not  be  done  as  well 
as  he  could  do  it,  or  as  well  as  some  one  else  could 
do  it.  But  there  are  those  who  can  attach  them- 
selves to  an  object  of  interest  easier  than  they  can 
release  themselves  from  it ;  who  can  devote  them- 
selves to  one  thing  wholly  and  to  one  thing  only. 
They  have  no  power  of  letting  things  drop ;  of 
turning  away  from  that  which  has  once  absorbed 
their  attention.  They  have  power  in  one  direction, 
and  in  that  alone.  The  rarer  quality  is  that  of 
being  devoted  to  many  things,  one  at  a  time;  of 
giving  up  an  object  of  interest  as  readily  as  of  tak- 
ing it  up.  This  commonly  marks  the  man  of  ex- 
ceptional versatility  in  his  successful  enterprises. 
This  was  a  distinguishing  characteristic  of  Mr.  Ha- 
ven. He  could  be  twenty  different  men  to  twenty 


SECTION  VIII. 

Character 

and 

Chanicter- 


Power  of 
Concentra- 
tion. 


Letting  go 
easily. 


A  Model  Superintendent. 


SKOTION  VIII. 

Character 

and 

Character- 
istics. 


One  thing  at 
u  time. 


President 

Ch;i))iu'8 

testimony. 


different  objects  in  one  day,  if  necessary.  In  the 
household  he  would  seem  to  have  only  family  in- 
terests to  attend  to.  Looking  over  his  business 
correspondence,  that  would  engross  his  attention 
wholly.  In  a  personal  conference  with  one  of  his 
partners,  nothing  would  appear  to  divert  his  rnind 
from  the  theme  of  that  conference.  At  the  rail- 
road company's  office  or  the  banking-house,  or  at 
a  school-board  meeting,  he  would  bear  himself  as 
if  the  subject  there  under  consideration  had  all  his 
waking  thoughts  year  in  and  year  out.  When  he 
met  a  personal  friend  by  appointment,  or  talked 
with  a  young  man  whom  he  was  aiding  in  some 
new  enterprise  or  in  his  education,  he  showed  no 
intimation  of  any  business  pressure  upon  him.  He 
was  apparently  as  free  for  that  conversation,  and 
as  much  interested  in  it,  as  if  he  had  been  waiting 
and  longing  for  it  for  hours,  with  time  hanging 
heavy  on  his  hands  meanwhile.  So,  also,  when  he 
turned  his  attention  to  his  Sunday-school  work,  or 
to  his  plans  of  evangelizing,  or  to  one  or  another 
of  his  beneficences,  or  to  a  pleasure-trip.  The  one 
thing  for  the  hour  was  the  only  thing  that  gave  a 
sign  of  existence  in  his  thoughts  or  purposes ;  and 
this  while  it  was  but  one  thing  of  a  score  for  that 
single  day.  One  of  Mr.  Haven's  attached  friends, 
President  Chapin,  of  Beloit  College,  says  of  this 
peculiarity  of  his : 

"Perhaps  he  was  best  known  (churchwise)  as  a 


A  Whole  Man  to  Everything. 


VIII. 


Mini 

Character- 
istics. 


with  all. 


Sunday-school  man  ;  and  one  who  knew  the  hours  SEOTIONVI1 

Character 

he  spent  on  his  plans  and  papers,  as  well  as  in  the 
public  exercises  of  his  two  schools,  might  well 
suppose  the  Sunday-school  his  only  branch  of 
Christian  work.  But  the  young  men  of  strait- 

J  ° 

ened  means,  hungry  for  college  training,  who  were 
cheered  and  encouraged  by  him,  knew  that  his 
heart  was  in  the  wrork  of  Christian  education. 
The  minister  on  the  frontier  and  his  wife,  refresh- 
ed, through  his  bounty,  by  a  visit  to  New  England, 
and  their  son  and  daughter,  finding  this  and  that 
need  of  theirs  supplied  by  him,  thought  of  him  as 
living  for  the  home  missionaries.  Those  who  saw 
him  on  the  deck  of  a  whaling-ship,  with  the  com- 
pany of  believers  he  had  gathered  to  fill  her  sails 
with  the  breath  of  prayer,  as  she  started  on  her 
long  voyage,  could  not  doubt  that  he  was  the  sea- 
men's friend.  To  the  poor  and  sick,  and  to  those 
in  prison,  he  came  often  as  the  city  missionarj', 
while  his  interest  in  the  foreign  missionary  work 
was  such  that  he  was  called  to  a  place  among  the 
corporate  members  of  the  American  Board.  And, 
in  noting  the  time  and  care  and  thought  he  gave 
to  these  varied  interests,  we  remember  that  he  was 
not  a  man  of  leisure,  but  all  the  while  he  was 
actively  engaged  in  extensive  business  which  his 
talents  and  industry  made  very  successful  ;  very 
much  engaged,  too,  in  promoting  the  common- 

school  interests  of  the  state  as  well  as  of  the  town, 
Ji 


Variety  in 
work. ' 


156 


A  Model  Superintendent. 


SKOTIONVHL 
Character 

and 

Character- 
istics. 


Keeping  his 
cnvu  counsel. 


and  giving  a  due  share  of  thought  and  time  to 
political  affairs." 

Conjoined  with  this  power  of  concentrating  and 
transferring  his  thoughts,  there  was  necessarily  a 
certain  secretiveness  in  Mr.  Haven's  nature  to  en- 
able him  thus  to  refrain  from  giving  a  sign  to 
others  of  any  object  of  interest  in  his  mind  or 
plans  aside  from  the  obvious  one  for  the  hour. 
He  would  chat  pleasantly  on  indifferent  topics 
with  a  neighbor  who  called  at  his  office,  making 
never  a  mention  of  the  fact  that  he  was  to  start 
that  evening  for  a  trip  across  the  continent,  or  that 
he  had  just  learned  of  the  loss  of  one  of  his  more 
valuable  whale-ships.  He  wTould  say  nothing  of 
the  sickness  in  his  family  which  had  kept  him 
awake  the  night  before,  as  he  talked  with  a  church 
committee  about  plans  of  church  building  or  en- 
largement. There  would  be  no  hint  of  the  busi- 
ness perplexities  which  had  taxed  his  energies  to 
their  utmost  in  his  labor  of  the  past  three  hours, 
as  he  called  on  one  of  his  Sunday-school  co-work- 
ers to  arrange  further  plans  for  a  midsummer  pic- 
nic. He  not  only  seemed  to  live  in  the  present 
moment,  but  he  commonly  managed  to  keep  those 
whom  he  met  from  thinking  that  any  other  time 
was  different  to  him  from  that  one.  They  saw, 
then,  but  one  side  of  himself,  and  but  one  phase 
of  his  life  and  its  labors ;  and  they  knew  little  or 
nothing  from  him  of  those  with  whom  he  had 


Geniality  and  Humor. 


157 


been  in  conference  just  before,  or  whom  lie  was 
to  meet  just  after  that  interview. 

That  he  was  methodical  to  an  extreme  degree 
follows  as  a  matter  of  course  from  the  many  la- 
bors undertaken  and  performed  by  him.  Without 
system  and  close  attention  to  it,  so  much  and  so 
varied  work  would  have  been  out  of  the  question. 
He  took  hold  of  things  and  he  let  go  of  them  on 
the  minute.  He  went  to  bed  and  he  got  up  when 
he  intended  to.  He  filled  all  the  time  needful  to 
do  each  duty  which  he  attempted,  and  that  was  all 
the  time  he  took  for  it.  Eating,  studying,  pray- 
ing, walking,  chatting,,  all  were  on  time  and  in 
their  time.  His  system  and  thoroughness,  his  en- 
terprise and  his  originality,  his  courage  and  his 
hopefulness,  have  already  been  illustrated  in  the 
story  of  his  career  in  business,  in  Sunday-school 
work,  and  in  public  life.  It  might  seem,  from  the 
prominence  given  to  these  sturdier  and  more  sub- 
stantial characteristics  of  Mr.  Haven,  that  he  lacked 
in  the  brighter  and  more  attractive  traits  of  free- 
dom and  heartiness  and  geniality  of  personal  life. 
But  this  was  by  no  means  the  case.  Mr.  Haven 
was  peculiarly  cheerful.  Few  men  loved  a  laugh 
more  than  he.  Few  men  could  give  themselves 
up  to  the  delights  of  social  intercourse  with  more 
of  unrestrained  enjoyment  when  such  recreation 
was  in  order. 

There  are  pleasant  memories  of  Mr.  Haven  in 


SEOTION  VIII. 
Character 

and 

Character- 
istics'. 


Attention 
to  system. 


Loving  a 
laugh. 


158 


A  Model  ^Superintendent. 


SECTION  VIII 

Character 

and 

Character- 
istics. 


Repartees. 


In  the 
wrong  coat. 


many  a  home  which  he  visited.  How  the  little 
folks  did  enjoy  his  chats  with  them,  and  their 
rides  upon  his  knee !  How  the  older  ones  remem- 
ber the  echo  of  his  contagious  laugh  or  the  bright- 
ness of  some  of  his  keen  repartees !  A  venerable 
clergyman*  of  his  county  tells  of  dining  at  Mr. 
Haven's  one  day.  "We  were  scarcely  seated  at 
the  table,"  says  the  clergyman, "when  he  turned  to 
me,  observing,  '  I  entertain  a  good  many  of  your 
cloth.'  'I  presume,  then,'  said  the  guest,  'you 
sometimes  entertain  angels  unawares.'  '  If  I  do 
in  this  case  it  will  be  unawares,''  was  the  quick 
rejoinder." 

Illustrations  of  the  playful  side  of  Mr.  Haven's 
nature  were  frequently  given  in  his  friendly  corre- 
spondence. On  one  occasion  a  friend  from  abroad, 
of  much  slighter  frame  than  himself,  unintention- 
ally exchanged  overcoats  with  Mr.  Haven,  on  leav- 
ing his  house  in  New  London,  but,  discovering  the 
mistake  soon  after,  telegraphed  a  request  for  a  re- 
exchange  of  the  coats  by  express.  At  this  Mr.  Ha- 
ven wrote  to  his  friend  : 

"  The  coat  was  rather  small ;  still  I  made  out  to 
get  into  it,  and  felt  almost  like  a  Reverend,  cer- 
tainly like  an  ex-Chaplain.  It  was  full,  I  assure 
you.  I  have  no  doubt  that  if  I  had  had  an  ap- 
pointment for  a  Sunday-school  convention  to-day, 

*  The  Rev.  T.  L.  Shipman,  in  The  National  Sunday  -  school 
Teacher. 


Home  Traits. 


151) 


I  should  have  been  in  the  spirit  as  well  as  in  the 
cloak,  and  have  surprised  any  audience  which  I 
might  address  by  my  zeal,  tact,  and  eloquence. 

"  I  was  in  blissful  ignorance  of  the  exchange, 
and  took  the  coat  to  my  wife  for  the  purpose  of 
having  a  few  stitches  taken  in  it.  After  a  few 
minutes  she  brought  it  back,  saying  that  it  was  not 
mine,  and  asking  if  you  wrore  an  overcoat.  The 
result  of  examination  showed  that  mine  was  miss- 
ing, and  then  I  wondered  in  what  part  of  my  ca- 
pacious folds  your  spare  tabernacle  was  hid. 

"  On  trying  the  experiment,  I  was  gratified  to 
learn  that  your  mantle  would  cover  me.  Mrs.  Ha- 
ven pronounced  me  greatly  improved  in  personal 
appearance,  and  I  probably  made  quite  an  impres- 
sion on  the  natives  as  I  wended  my  way  to  the 
office.  Alas  for  the  transitory  nature  of  all  these 
outward  adornings !  Your  telegraphic  summons 
requires  me  to  give  up  my  graceful  outer  garment 
and  return  to  my  plain  and  faded  housing.  I  send 
your  coat,  as  ordered,  by  express ;  and  my  heart 
says,  May  its  owner  long  abide  where  the  flesh  re- 
quires these  surroundings ;  and  when  this  mortal 
shall  have  put  on  immortality,  then  may  he  be 
clothed  with  that  'fine  linen,  clean  and  white,' 
which  is  '  the  righteousness  of  the  saints.'  " 

It  was  in  his  home  life  that  Mr.  Haven  was  most 
completely  himself,  and  that  he  exhibited  those 
qualities  and  characteristics,  and  that  spirit  and 


SECTION  VIII. 
Character 

and 
Chui'acier- 


The  be.«t 
covering. 


Household 
life. 


100 


A  Model  Superintendent. 


SECTION  VIII. 
Character 

arid 

Character- 
istics. 


The  home 
test. 


Marriage. 


Miss  Caulk- 
iiis. 


temper  which  gave  him  success  in  business  and 
efficiency  in  Sunday-school  work,  and  which  won 
to  him  the  affection  and  confidence  of  those  who 
knew  him  most  intimately.  No  man  is  really 
worthy  of  love  and  honor  outside  of  his  home 
who  is  not  loved  and  honored  in  his  home.  No 
man  can  be  a  model  superintendent  who  is  not  a 
model  husband  and  father — if  he  has  a  family  in 
which  to  manifest  himself  in  those  relations.  A 
man's  life  in  his  home  is  the  true  measure  and  test 
of  both  his  manhood  and  his  Christian  attainment 
and  capacity. 

When  he  was  twenty-five  years  old,  Mr.  Haven 
was  married  to  Miss  Elizabeth  Lucas  Douglas,  of 
Waterford.  They  had  four  children,  one  of  whom 
died  in  infancy  and  one  in  young  manhood.  But 
his  household  was  rarely,  if  ever,  limited  to  wife 
and  children.  Others  were  included  in  that  circle. 
Two  half-sisters  of  his — children  of  his  mother  by 
her  first  marriage — lived  with  him.  One  of  these 
sisters,  Miss  Frances  Manwaring  Caulkins,  was  a 
lady  of  superior  intellectual  and  moral  force,  and 
of  refined  taste  and  culture.  She  had  been  a  pupil 
of  Mrs.  Sigourney,  when  the  latter,  as  Miss  Lydia 
Huntley,  had  conducted  a  young  ladies'  school  at 
Norwich.  Afterwards  she  had  herself  been  at  the 
head  of  a  female  academy  in  New  London,  and, 
again,  of  one  at  Norwich.  She  was  a  good  scholar 
in  Latin,  French,  German,  and  Italian,  arid  was  a 


An  Expanding  Household. 


Kil 


anil 
Clmnicter- 


An  industri- 
ous author. 


lover  of  the  best  literature  in  all  those  tongues.  SK"TI<>NVI" 

Cbaracter 

She  had  some  poetic  talent.  As  a  popular  writer 
for  children  she  had  unusual  power.  Her  "Tract 
Primer,"  published  by  the  American  Tract  Soci- 
ety, was  circulated  to  the  extent  of  more  than  a 
million  copies  in  English,  and  in  large  editions  in 
other  languages.  Other  publications  of  hers  by 
the  same  society  reached  a  circulation  of  not  less 
than  a  million.  Moreover,  as  a  local  historian 
she  had  special  prominence,  preparing  a  history 
of  Norwich  and  a  history  of  New  London,  and 
being  in  familiar  correspondence  with  such  histo- 
rians as  George  Bancroft,  Edward  Everett,  Rob- 
ert C.  Winthrop ;  the  Rev.  Dr.  Sprague,  of  Al- 
bany; Judge  Savage,  of  Boston;  and  Dr.  J.  Ham- 
mond Trumbull,  of  Hartford.  The  influence  and 
the  sympathy  of  this  sister  could  not  but  have 
their  share  in  shaping  the  tastes  and  promoting 
the  studies  of  Mr.  Haven,  and  they  certainly  were 
evident  in  the  atmosphere  of  his  household. 

From  time  to  time  boys  and  young  men  were 
members  of  Mr.  Haven's  family,  while  training  for 
business  or  for  college.  Mr.  Richard  II.  Chapell, 
who  was  afterwards  his  partner,  was  thus  for  eigh- 
teen years  in  his  household.  And  now  and  then 
young  lady  relatives  or  protegees  were  similarly 
there.  A  son  or  a  daughter  of  a  deceased  friend 
or  of  a  missionary  would  be  practically  adopted 
into  his  family,  coming,  perhaps,  at  the  first  for  a 


A  sister's  in- 
fluence. 


A  home  f>T 
others. 


162 


A  Model  Superintendent. 


SECTION  VIII, 
Character 

and 

Character- 
istics. 


Household 
system. 


A  religions 
atmosphere. 


few  weeks,  and  continuing  there  for  years.  And 
on  more  than  one  occasion  a  missionary  and  his 
family  found  a  home  there.  In  this  way  the  home 
circle  was  a  large  one,  but  its  character  was  always 
the  same.  It  had  the  power  of  assimilating  what- 
ever for  the  time  being  entered  into  its  composi- 
tion. 

Method  and  system  pervaded  that  household. 
A  man  with  all  the  varied  interests  and  duties  on 
hand  which  pressed  Mr.  Haven  could  never  get 
along  with  slackness  or  shiftlessness  in  his  family 
appointments.  There  was  a  time  for  everything 
in  his  home,  and  everything  was  on  time.  But 
there  was  cheerfulness  in  the  family  intercourse. 
And,  when  Mr.  Haven  turned  away  from  study  in 
his  library,  or  had  closed  the  service  of  morning 
worship,  he  was  as  ready  to  listen  to  the  story  of 
little  matters  which  concerned  his  loved  ones,  or 
to  chat  and  laugh  with  them  unrestrainedly,  as 
he  had  been  a  minute  before  to  read  or  write  or 
pray.  Religion  was  in  his  home  atmosphere.  That 
was  not  a  subject  for  outside  consideration  or  for 
Sunday  prominence  only.  It  was  manifest  at  all 
times,  and  was  constantly  finding  appropriate  ex- 
pression. The  reciting  of  favorite  texts  of  Script- 
ure by  every  member  of  the  family,  including  its 
guests,  was  a  preliminary  to  the  morning  meal,  af- 
ter all  were  gathered  at  the  table.  Having  asked 
a  blessing  on  the  food  before  them,  Mr.  Haven 


Dr.  John  IlaWs  Tribute. 


163 


would  repeat  some  Bible  verse,  his  wife  would  re- 
peat another,  and  so  on  down  to  the  youngest  per- 
son present.  It  was  as  if  he  would  say,  "  I  have 
esteemed  the  words  of  IJis  mouth  more  than  my 
necessary  food." 

This  hearty  love  for  the  Bible  was  a  marked 
characteristic  of  Mr.  Haven.  His  associates  on  the 
Lesson  Committee  all  speak  of  it — as  also  of  his 
gracefulness  in  deferring  to  the  will  of  the  major- 
ity when  a  decision  was  against  him  on  a  lesson  se- 
lection he  had  advocated— in  their  varied  tributes 
to  his  memory.  The  Rev.  Dr.  John  Hall,  of  that 
committee,  writes : 

"Through  our  common  membership  in  the  Com- 
mittee on  International  Lessons,  in  connection  with 
one  of  its  meetings  when  I  was  a  guest  at  his  home 
in  New  London,  I  had  the  opportunity  of  know- 
ing, as  one  can  learn  only  in  a  man's  home  and 
in  his  immediate  neighborhood,  what  manner  of 
man  Mr.  Haven  was. 

"  In  common  with  his  associates  on  the  commit- 
tee, I  had  learned  to  admire  and  reverence  him  for 
his  devout  regard  for  inspired  truth ;  his  painstak- 
ing effort  to  understand  and  teach  it,  and  for  the 
constant  direction  of  his  thoughts  towards  the  most 

o 

effective  methods  of  presenting  the  Divine  Word 
to  the  mind  of  the  young.  Nor  did  I  less  admire 
the  gentle  and  modest  spirit  with  which  he  defer- 
red to  the  views  of  others  in  a  company  where,  in 


SF.OTION  VIII. 
Character 

and 

Character- 
istics. 


Love  of  the 
Bible. 


Devotion  to 
the  truth. 


164 


A  Model  Superintendent. 


SECTION  VIII. 
Character 

and 

Character- 
istics. 


Childlike- 
ness. 


A  New 

England 

Enirlishinau. 


the  nature  of  the  case,  many  personal  preferences 
had  to  give  way  to  the  general  conviction  of  duty 
and  of  the  character  stamped  on  the  work  by  the 
instructions  under  which  we  acted. 

"  It  is  no  breach  of  the  confidence  of  that  com- 
mittee to  say  that  Mr.  Haven  came  to  it  with  his 
carefully  selected  outlines  of  lessons  and  his  mind 
turned  to  this  or  that  passage,  because  he  had  fed 
on  it  himself,  and  had  dealt  it  out  to  his  school 
with  evident  advantage.  His  struggle  to  forego 
that  which  was  to  him  so  precious  was  a  study  to 
his  associates ;  and  his  joy  when  we  were  able  to 
accept  his  views  was,  like  his  general  Christian 
spirit,  as  that  of  a  little  child.  I  never  parted 
from  him  without  having  suggested  to  me  the 
words  'An  Israelite  indeed,  in  whom  is  no  guile.' 

"All  the  impressions  I  had  formed  of  him  were 
confirmed  by  the  nearer  view  of  the  man  among 
his  familiar  surroundings.  Genial,  practical,  dili- 
gent, full  of  respect  for  the  convictions  of  others, 
and  earnestly  bent  on  giving  effect  to  his  own,  he 
was  to  me  a  fine  type  of  an  Englishman  of  large 
and  kindly  nature,  trained  and  moulded  under  the 
influences  of  J^ew  England,  and  fitted  for  filling 
with  great  usefulness  that  sphere  in  which  the 
Christian  layman  can  adorn  the  doctrine  of  God 
his  Saviour,  and  do  much  of  the  work  of  a  minis- 
ter of  the  Gospel,  without  the  suspicion  of  being 
simply  engaged  officially.  I  can  think  of  no  great- 


Words  from  the  West. 


165 


er  blessing  for  a  town  or  a  church  than  the  multi- 
plication of  such  public-spirited,  consistent,  warm- 
hearted Christian  gentlemen  as  Henry  P.  Haven. 
I  pray  God  to  bless  the  memorial  of  him  to  the 
diffusion  of  his  principles  and  to  the  perpetuation 
of  his  moral  influence." 

President  Chapin,  Mr.  Haven's  denominational 
associate  on  the  Lesson  Committee,  says  of  his 
work  there : 

"  He  showed  great  familiarity  with  the  Script- 
ures, and  was  especially  earnest  to  have  the  lessons 
so  adjusted  as  to  bring  the  different  parts  of  the 
Bible  to  support  each  other ;  for  he  reverenced 
the  whole  as  the  one  Word  of  God.  He  was  wont 
to  urge  strongly  that  the  '  golden  texts '  from  the 
New  Testament  lessons  should  be  drawn  from  the 
Old  Testament,  and  vice  versa,  and  was  himself 
very  happy  in  pointing  out  verses  appropriate. 

"  His  broad  face  beaming  with  interest,  his  pleas- 
ant voice,  his  enthusiasm  in  pleading  for  his  favor- 
ite parts  of  Bible  history,  his  graceful  yielding  to 
the  judgment  of  others  when  his  preferences  were 
overruled,  and  the  sweet  spirit  of  Christian  devo- 
tion which  marked  his  whole  bearing  left  abiding 
impressions,  and  will  cause  his  memory  to  be  ever 
cherished  with  respect  and  love  by  all  of  his  col- 
leagues on  that  committee." 

Warm-hearted  and  zealous  B.  F.  Jacobs  says,  in 
a  similar  strain : 


SKOTION  VIII. 
Character 

and 

Character- 
istics. 


President 
Chapiu'H 
testimony. 


The  one 
Word  of 
God 


Graceful 
yielding. 


Witness  of 
B.F.  Jacobs. 


166 


A  Model  /Superintendent. 


SECTION  VIII. 
Character 

and 

Character- 
istics. 


Bringing 
sunshine. 


Seeking 
plains. 


A  lover  of 
the  Word. 


Dr.  Vincent's 
view. 


"  Brother  Haven  was  so  good  a  friend  and  so 
lovely  a  man  that  I  would  like  to  write  more  than 
I  can  with  reference  to  his  work  on  the  Lesson 
Committee.  He  was  a  decided  help  there,  in  that 
he  gave  more  sunshine  and  sweetness  than  would 
have  been  possible  without  him.  And  he  was  a 
blessing  because  he  was  prayer  -full  at  all  times. 
Of  his  Bible  work  I  may  say  that  he  carried  out 
these  traits  of  character :  He  was  always  seeking 
for  '  plums'  in  the  Scripture,  and  any  chapter  that 
had  one  of  his  favorite  verses  in  he  was  anxious 
to  have  selected,  without  so  much  reference  to 
other  selections.  This  led  to  another  desire:  to 
take  every  verse  of  a  favorite  chapter;  and,  when 
that  could  not  be  done,  to  take  all  that  the  com- 
mittee would  allow.  Had  his  advice  been  fol- 
lowed, it  would  have  taken  at  least  twenty -one 
years,  instead  of  seven,  for  a  course. 

"  He  was  a  lover  of  the  Word  rather  than  a  stu- 
dent, but  he  did  love  to  study  it.  I  am  tliankf ul 
that  I  knew  him.  The  influence  of  such  a  friend 
is  abiding." 

And  good  Dr.  Vincent,  the  chairman  of  the  com- 
mittee, sums  up  the  story  of  Mr.  Haven  among  his 
associates  there  thus  pleasantly : 

"  Henry  P.  Haven  was  one  of  the  most  gentle- 
spirited  men  I  ever  met.  Pie  brought  sunshine 
into  every  meeting  of  our  International  Lesson 
Committee.  He  made  careful  preparation  in  ad- 


The  Word  Memorised. 


107 


vance  of  our  sessions;  insisted  strenuously  upon 
his  preferences  when  there  was  a  difference  of 
opinion  concerning  specific  selections ;  defended 
his  positions  with  great  fervor;  but  yielded  with  a 
generous,  hearty  laugh  when  the  vote  went  against 
him ;  in  every  case,  I  believe,  voting  afterwards 
with  the  majority  when  it  was  desired,  according 
to  our  custom,  to  make  the  choice  unanimous. 

"  He  loved  the  Word ;  he  loved  the  brethren ; 
he  loved  the  work;  he  loved  the  Lord.  He  has 
gone  to  his  reward.  We  miss  him  at  our  annual 
sessions.  We  hope  to  join  him  again  in  the  un- 
broken fellowships  of  the  life  eternal." 

In  his  love  of  God's  Word,  Mr.  Haven  had  fast- 
ened many  passages  from  it  in  his  memory.  His 
mind  was  richly  stored  in  this  way  with  accumu- 
lations more  to  be  desired  "  than  gold,  yea,  than 
much  fine  gold,"  and  to  him  "  sweeter  than  honey 
and  the  honeycomb."  He  was  always  ready  with 
an  appropriate  quotation  of  Scripture.  While  re- 
turning from  the  Indianapolis  Convention,  which 
had  planned  for  the  International  Lessons,  in  1872, 
Mr.  Haven  was  on  a  Pullman  car,  with  a  party  of 
fellow  delegates,  for  two  nights  and  a  day.  As 
the  night  was  shutting  in,  soon  after  the  train  had 
started  from  its  station,  a  service  of  evening  wor- 
ship was  proposed,  and  Mr.  Haven  was  asked  to 
lead  it.  It  was  already  too  dark  for  him  to  read 
the  fine  print  of  his  pocket  Bible  with  ease,  so  he 


SECTION  VI II. 

Character 

and 

Character- 
istics. 


Loved  and 
missed. 


Seeing  in 
the  dark. 


168 


A  Model  /Superintendent. 


SECTION  VIII. 
Character 

and 

Character- 
istics. 


Favorite 
truths. 


Looking 
forward. 


stood  up  in  the  car  and,  in  reverent  tones,  recited 
the  first  chapter  of  Hebrews  throughout  as  a  theme 
for  the  meditations  of  the  hour.  When  the  natu- 
ral eye  was  shaded,  the  eye  of  his  mind  was  still 
clear  for  those  words,  the  entrance  of  which  giveth 
light  to  the  soul. 

He  had  his  favorite  truths  in  the  Scriptures. 
Every  intelligent  disciple  has.  The  Christian  who 
loves  no  one  truth  more  than  another  has  no  very 
great  love  for  any.  We  are  none  of  us  so  judicial- 
ly poised  as  to  see  all  truths  clearly  in  their  proper 
relations  to  one  another  and  to  our  own  needs  and 
longings ;  and  if  we  give  much  thought  to  the 
Bible  and  its  teachings,  some  of  its  disclosures  and 
promises  will  have  a  peculiar  attractiveness  to  us. 
Prominent  in  Mr.  Haven's  thoughts  and  affections 
was  the  truth  of  the  resurrection.  He  loved  to 
think  and  to  speak  of  his  glorified  Lord.  There 
was  no  comfort  to  him  in  a  dead  Christ.  He  did 
not  walk  towards  heaven  backwards,  with  his  eyes 
on  Calvary.  His  point  of  observation  was  Beth- 
any, whence  the  risen  Jesus  had  been  received  in 
a  cloud  out  of  the  sight  of  his  disciples,  while  the 
word  of  the  heavenly  messengers  was  to  them, 
"  This  same  Jesus,  which  is  taken  up  from  you 
into  heaven,  shall  so  come  in  like  manner  as  ye 
have  seen  him  go  into  heaven."  Yet  he  did  not 
"stand"  "gazing  up  into  heaven."  He  pressed 
forward  in  the  path  of  duty  in  constant  readiness 


Falling  Shadows. 


169 


for  the  coming  again  of  his  Redeemer,  and  in  the  SE"™»*VIII. 

c        ,  Character 

loyous  hope  of  a  glorious  resurrection  if  he  should    ~  lllld 

•'    J  L  °  Character- 

fall  asleep  before  his  Lord  appeared.     Easter-Sun- 


day  was  a  delightful  day  to  Mr.  Haven ;  and  one 
of  the  very  latest  Sunday-school  exercises  .which 
he  prepared  was  an  Easter  Service,  according  to 
his  custom  for  a  series  of  years.  This  service  was 
used  in  his  two  Sunday-schools  just  two  weeks  be- 
fore his  death. 

There  came  a  time  when  heavy  shadows  fell 
across  the  path  of  Mr.  Haven's  life,  and  he  could 
not  but  be  depressed  by  them.  His  eldest  son, 
Thomas  Williams  Haven,  who  had  grown  to  years 
of  manhood,  and  was  already  taken  into  partner- 
ship with  his  father,  died  after  a  very  brief  illness, 
in  the  summer  of  1870,  at  the  age  of  twenty-three. 
This  was  a  severe  blow  to  Mr.  Haven.  The  loss 
of  the  son's  companionship,  and  the  unexpected 
cutting-off  of  all  the  bright  hopes  for  his  business 
future,  intensified  the  father's  sense  of  loss.  Then 
the  wife  of  his  youth,  whose  love  and  sympathy 
had  been  so  much  to  him  for  more  than  thirty 
years,  failed  steadily  in  health,  and,  in  spite  of  the 
tenderest  care  and  of  the  highest  professional  skill, 
sank  gradually  to  rest  and  passed  away  in  the  au- 
tumn of  1874.  Almost  at  the  same  time — a  few 
months  earlier,  indeed — his  valued  partner,  Mr. 
Chapell,  who  had  been  so  many  years  in  Mr.  Ha- 
ven's family,  and  afterwards  by  his  side  in  busi- 


Easter  ser- 
vices. 


Bereave- 
ment*. 


Griefs 
Mr. 


170 


A  Model  /Superintendent. 


SECTION  VIII 
Character 

and 

Character- 
istics. 


In  deep 
waters. 


A  trip  to 
Europe. 


Dr.  L.W.  Ba- 
con's story. 


ness,  ceased  his  earthly  work.  Within  a  few 
months  from  this  double  blow  there  came  the 
death  of  Mr.  Haven's  son-in-law,  Mr.  Francis  Al- 
lyn  Perkins,  the  husband  of  his  only  daughter; 
and  his  senior  partner,  Major  Williams,  who  had, 
in  fact,  first  trained  him  in  his  business  life,  was 
gathered  to  his  fathers  at  an  advanced  age.  Loved 
ones,  old  and  young,  seemed  to  be  leaving  Mr. 
Haven.  His  inner  circle  of  friendships  was  grow- 
ing sensibly  smaller.  He  was  in  deep  waters  of 
sorrow,  and  their  chill  was  upon  him,  even  though 
they  could  not  overflow  him  nor  separate  him 
from  the  companionship  and  comfort  of  his  Re- 
deemer. 

It  was  from  the  added  pressure  of  his  personal 
bereavements  that  necessity  was  laid  on  Mr.  Ha- 
ven for  a  trip  to  Europe  in  1875,  in  order  that 
he  might  have  temporary  relief  from  his  business 
cares,  while  securing  an  entire  change  of  scene  and 
air.  His  presence,  during  that  trip,  at  the  meet- 
ing of  the  Congregational  Union  of  England  and 
Wales,  has  already  been  mentioned.  He  also  met, 
by  invitation,  the  Committee  of  the  London  Sun- 
day-school Union  for  a  conference  at  the  rooms  of 
that  society.  The  incidents  of  his  visit  at  Geneva 
are  pleasantly  sketched  by  two  persons  who  were 
with  him  there.  The  Rev.  Dr.  Leonard  Woolsey 
Bacon,  then  pastor  of  the  American  Chapel  in  the 
home  of  Calvin,  writes  : 


A  Genevan  Sunday. 


171 


"It  was  a  characteristic  of  our  American  church 
at  Geneva  that  the  church  flourished  when  the 
congregations  were  small.  In  the  summer,  when 
the  tide  of  tourists  flowed  amain,  the  little  '  Hall 
of  the  Reformation'  would  be  filled  of  a  Sunday 
morning  with  strange  faces,  and  when  public  wor- 
ship was  ended  there  would  be  multitudinous 
handshakings  and  Christian  greetings  among  old 
friends  and  new,  and  our  Sunday  evening  gather- 
ings were  true  feasts  of  charity  without  blemish, 
in  which  believers  from  all  quarters  of  the  world 
brought  together  their  contributions  to  the  com- 

O  o 

mon  instruction  and  pleasure.  But  with  all  the 
'hurrying  to  and  fro'  of  the  summer,  the  steady 
work  of  the  little  church  was  much  interrupted, 
and  especially  the  work  of  the  Sunday-school, 
which  never  knew  on  one  Sunday  what  teachers 
or  scholars  it  could  count  on  for  the  next.  So,  as 
some  Sunday -schools  freeze  up  in  winter,  ours 
dried  up,  or  rather  was  flooded  out,  in  summer. 

"But  when  we  learned  that  two  such  Sunday- 
school  teachers  as  Henry  P.  Haven  and  John  Wan- 
amaker  were  in  town  at  once,  the  mere  announce- 
ment was  enough  to  create  a  Sunday-school  of  it- 
self. We  rallied  the  American  children  who  hap- 
pened to  be  in  town  on  the  lawn  of  the  pastor's 
house,  a  half-hour's  walk  from  Geneva,  on  the 
slopes  of  Petit  Sacconex,  and  organized  for  the 
nonce  with  Mr.  "Wanamaker  for  superintendent 
12 


SECTION  VIII. 

Character 

and 
Character* 

istics. 

The  Hall  of 
the  Kefur- 
mutiuu. 


A  rare 
treat. 


172 


A  Model  Superintendent. 


SECTION  VII I 
Character 

and 

Character- 
istics. 


A  tempting 
landscape. 


An  nttrnc- 
tive  teacher. 


and  Mr.  Haven  for  teacher;  and  we  were  all  in 
one  class. 

."  Of  the  hundreds  of  American  and  English  vis- 
itors who  were  guests  at ' Villa  Bellamy'  while  it 
was  the  house  of  the  American  pastor,  I  think 
there  are  not  many  who  will  forget  the  exquisite 
beauty  of  the  view  from  that  lawn.  The  picture 
was  framed  in  between  fringes  of  shrubbery  and 
trees  that  shut  out  from  view  the  neighboring 
villas.  Off  to  the  right,  on  its  rocky  bluff  at  the 
outlet  of  the  lake,  sat  the  city  of  Calvin,  crowned 
with  its  low,  massive  cathedral  towers.  Before  us 
stretched  the  glassy  expanse  of  'clear,  smiling  Le- 
man,'  flecked  with  broad,  double  lateen  -  sails,  so 
curiously  like  the  outstretched  wings  of  some  vast 
water-fowl.  And,  as  a  background  to  this,  rose 
tier  above  tier  of  hills  and  rocks  and  mountains — 
green,  turfy  hills  and  rocks  of  gray  or  ruddy  stone 
— and,  at  last,  against  the  eastern  sky,  the  awful 
snowy  forms  of  Mont  Blanc  and  his  attendant 
procession  of  jagged  and  splintered  cliffs.  It  is 
something  of  a  testimony  to  the  powrer  of  the 
teacher  and  to  the  teachableness  of  his  scholars 
that  he  was  able  to  hold  his  own  against  the  at- 
traction of  such  surroundings. 

"  I  need  not  add,  from  so  distant  a  recollection, 
to  the  illustrations  already  given  of  Mr.  Haven's 
method  as  he  unfolded  from  his  own  mind  and 
drew  forth  from  his  class  whatever  could  throw 


Mr.  Great-tieart. 


173 


Character 


light  on  the  International  Lesson  for  the  day.     I 

0 

distinctly  remember,  however,  some  very  striking 
illustrations  that  he  brought  out  of  the  recollec- 
tions of  his  own  boyhood  and  early  business  life. 
Such  reminiscences  of  a  successful  and  useful  man 
are  among  the  things  that  boys  most  willingly  hear 
and  longest  remember,  and  are  most  inclined  to 
profit  by.  l  Solus  est  hcec  nosse  adolescentulis? 
The  little  children  that  were  too  young  to  lay  to 


How  to  jog 
the  memory. 


heart  the  meaning  of  the  talk  had  their  memory 
of  the  good  man  reinforced  by  tiny  fractional  Cal- 
ifornia gold  coins,  carried  in  his  pocket,  I  judge. 
to  meet  just  such  emergencies,  and  now  worth,  as 
a  memorial  of  Henry  P.  Haven,  'more  than  their 
weight  in  gold.'  ': 

This  reminiscence  of  that  Genevan  Sunday  is  A  word  from 

J          Mr.  waua- 

supplemented  by  Mr.  Wanamaker  in  a  way  to  maker- 
show  the  quiet  trustfulness  of  Mr.  Haven,  and  to 
bring  out  young  Dr.  Bacon  in  his  habit  of  taking 
a  practical  view  of  things.     The  Philadelphia  su- 
perintendent writes  : 

"  The  very  mention  of  Mr.  Haven's  name  brings 
up  Bunyan's  picture  of  Mr.  Great-heart.  I  recall 
his  great  business  capacity,  his  important  public 
life,  his  cleanness  of  record,  his  commanding  influ- 
ence ;  but  I  find  truest  satisfaction  in  the  glow  of 
his  Christian  work.  Good  and  wise  as  he  was,  he 
was  ever  learning,  particularly  with  reference  to 
his  Sunday-school  work.  And  though  I  spent  days 


A  Model  Superintendent. 


SECTION  VIII 
Character 

aud 

Character- 
istics. 


A  memora- 
ble da}'. 


Under  fire. 


in  rehearsing  to  him  methods  of  which  I  knew,  I 
am  sure  I  received  as  much  from  him  in  return. 

"  Perhaps  the  most  memorable  day  I  ever  spent 
with  him  was  in  Geneva.  As  I  joined  him  on  his 
way  to  the  American  chapel,  we  locked  arms  and 
walked  together  to  the  place  of  worship,  then 
in  charge  of  the  Kev.  Leonard  "Woolsey  Bacon. 
There  were  but  few  worshippers  there,  in  that 
strange,  far-off  city ;  but  we  held  sweet  fellowship 
with  one  another  and  with  our  Elder  Brother. 
After  lunch,  by  invitation  of  Mr.  Bacon,  we  went 
out  to  the  parsonage,  and,  with  a  few  friends  who 
gathered,  held  Sunday-school.  Dear  Mr.  Haven  as 
teacher  conducted  the  exercises.  The  lesson  was 
on  God's  protection;  and  we  had  a  most  thrilling 
incident  occur,  on  this  wise : 

"  We  were  seated  under  the  trees  of  the  garden, 
and  were  in  the  midst  of  a  most  tender  and  loving 
lesson,  with  our  Bibles  resting  on  our  knees,  look- 
ing into  Mr.  Haven's  face,  which  seemed  radiant 
with  that  enthusiasm  that  ever  inspired  his  teach- 
ings, when  the  report  of  a  gun  was  heard  which 
startled  us  all,  as  it  seemed  close  by.    The  next  in- 
tan  t  there  came  pattering  from  leaf  to  leaf  over 
our  heads  the  falling  shot,  proving  the  narrow  es- 
ape  that  we  had  had.     As  our  faces  paled  from 
the  sense  of  danger,  Mr.  Haven,  without  a  ruffle, 
almly  said,  'God  will  protect  us.     Surely  we  can 
rely  on  our  Father's  charge  of  us  on  this  his  holy 


Bdow  the  Surface. 


175 


day,  while  we  are  engaged  in  his  blessed  service." 
Not  a  flutter  of  nerve  nor  a  doubt  of  mind  seemed 
to  come  to  him  of  God's  care  for  his  children. 
This  doubly  impressed  me,  as  well  as  what  fol- 
lowed. Mr.  Bacon,  the  pastor,  who  sat  on  the  steps 
with  his  boys,  so  soon  as  he  heard  Mr.  Haven  say 
'  God  will  protect  us,'  seized  his  hat,  saying,  '  I 
think,  however,  He  wants  me  to  help  him,'  and 
started  off  to  find  the  reckless  sportsman,  who  was 
so  near  us,  but  all  unconscious  of  what  he  had 
done,  and  who  promptly  retired  after  the  pastor's 
reprimand.  The  whole  thing  was  a  happy  blend- 
ing of  faith  and  works. 

"  I  believe  I  never  saw  Mr.  Haven  after  this  i 
Genevan  Sabbath.  I  came  back  to  my  work,  and 
he  went  home  to  his  reward ;  but  the  memory  of 
his  faith  sweetens.  The  touch  of  his  hand  on  my 
Sunday-school  work  is  felt  to-day,  though  he  is 
gone.  I  never  think  of  him  without  wanting  to 
be  more  like  him." 

Such  tributes  as  these  to  the  attractiveness  and 
power  of  Mr.  Haven's  character  show  how  much 
there  was  in  it  of  both  strength  and  beauty.  Yet, 
with  all  this,  he  could  hardly  have  been  called  a 
popular  man  ;  nor,  indeed,  was  his  superior  ability 
so  generally  recognized  as  might  be  inferred  from 
what  has  been  truly  said  of  him.  His  very  devo- 
tion to  the  work  he  had  in  hand  for  the  hour,  and 
his  uniform  habit  of  doin£  what  he  deemed  his 


SECTION  VIII. 
Character 

and 

Chnracter- 
ii-tio. 


Faith  and 
works. 


ory. 


Strength 
and  beaut v. 


176 


A  Model  /Superintendent. 


SECTION  VIII 
Character 

and 

Character- 
istics. 


Diffused 
activities. 


A  sketch 
from  Presi- 
dent Porter. 


Magnanim- 
ity. 


duty  whether  it  pleased  others  or  not,  caused  him 
to  seem  to  many  an  unsocial  man ;  and  although 
he  enjoyed  public  recognition  and  prominence,  he 
would  not  make  the  pursuit  of  these  his  occupa- 
tion at  any  time.  No  breath  of  suspicion  ever 
came  to  bring  him  into  unpleasant  notoriety ;  and 
his  secular  and  religious  activities  were  so  varied 
and  widely  diffused  that  they  gave  him  less  public 
prominence  than  would  have  been  his  had  his  la- 
bors been  in  a  single  sphere  rather  than  in  mam^. 
But  those  who  knew  him  best  loved  and  honored 
him  most ;  and  a  closer  acquaintance  with  him  wras 
sure  to  bring  to  the  light  added  reasons  for  giving 
him  one's  confidence  and  admiration.  This  truth 
is  well  illustrated  by  the  following  appreciative 
sketch  of  him  from  the  pen  of  so  discriminating 
an  observer  as  President  Porter,  of  Yale  College : 

'  O 

"I  had  a  pleasant  but  no  specially  intimate  ac- 
quaintance with  Mr.  Haven  for  several  years  be- 
fore I  was  brought  into  confidential  relations  with 
him  by  an  event  which  deeply  wounded  his  feel- 
ings. In  the  communications  which  followed  I 
was  led  to  admire  his  magnanimity  in  judging  of 
the  motives  of  others,  and  his  readiness  to  forgive 
the  wrong  which  had  been  done  to  him.  He  was 
touched  and  wounded  most  deeply;  but  he  did  not 
forget  the  duties  which  his  Master  had  enjoined 
in  such  cases,  nor  did  he  fail  to  exemplify  in  an 
eminent  degree  the  spirit  which  his  Master  had 


President  Porter's  Tribute. 


177 


It  was  must  in-  S*:OT">*VIII 

Character 

"lld 

Character. 

lHtlc"- 


consecrated  by  his  own  example. 

terestmg  to  see  tins  naturally  high-spirited  and 

0  •> 

self-relying  man  bend  himself  to  the  yoke  of  his 

Master  in  relations  to  others  whom  he  had  be- 
friended,  but  who,  as  he  thought,  had  wantonly 
trifled  with  his  rights. 

"After  this  we  were  on  somewhat  intimate 
terms,  and  every  opportunity  which  revealed  any- 
thing of  his  character  revealed  something  new 
of  his  eminently  Christian  temper  and  pervasive 
Christian  principles.  With  untiring  energy  and 
elastic  vivacity,  with  no  little  wit  and  humor,  he 
was  always  .true  to  the  great  law  of  his  life  —  a  man 


seeking 


first  the  kingdom  of  God  and  his  right- 


eousness' for  himself  and  for  others. 

"I  was  with  him  for  a  day  or  two  at  his  house, 
on  occasion  of  the  dedication  of  the  church  edifice 
in  which  he  took  so  strong  an  interest  and  so  laud- 
able a  pride.  Seeing  him  then  for  the  first  time 
within  his  own  home,  I  saw  many  new  sides  of  his 
character  —  his  patient  and  tender  affectionateness, 
his  provision  for  intellectual  culture  and  activity 
for  himself  and  all  the  members  of  his  household, 
his  reverent  love  for  the  aged,  his  youthful  sym- 
pathy with  the  young,  his  sense  of  beauty  and  of 
humor  ;  all  sustained  and  quickened  by  devout  and 
studied  habits  of  family  worship,  and  confirmed 
and  quickened  by  his  untiring  zeal  for  the  church 
and  the  Sunday-school,  for  the  mission  chapel  at 


8ided 


178 


A  Model  Superintendent. 


SKOTIONVIII, 
Character 

and 

Character- 
istics. 


Abreast 
with  busi- 
ness. 


Tenderness 
and  submis- 
sion. 


home  and  the  mission  station  on  the  prairie  and 
across  the  sea. 

"  Some  five  weeks  before  his  death,  he  made  me 
a  flying  visit  on  an  inclement  day.  The  visit  had 
been  arranged  chiefly  for  the  gratification  of  an 
orphan  ward,  in  whom  I  had  a  special  interest. 
He  spent  two  or  three  hours  in  showing  his  charge 
the  sights  of  the  town,  notwithstanding  the  per- 
sonal exposure  which  this  involved.  At  the  din- 
ner-table he  received  a  telegram,  sent  from  his  of- 
fice, announcing  that  another  telegram  had  arrived 
a  few  minutes  before  from  London,  advising  the 
firm  of  an  important  sale  that  morning.  Apropos 
to  this,  he  informed  me  that  it  was  his  habit  to 
cause  advices  of  this  sort  to  follow  him  whenever 
he  was  absent  for  a  day  or  two,  that  he  might  be 
abreast  with  his  business  every  hour.  I  could  not 
but  admire,  as  illustrating  the  care  and  grace  with 
which  he  blended  the  varied  streams  of  his  mani- 
fold interests,  the  energy  and  many-sidedness  of 
the  head  and  heart  of  this  noble-minded  and  ten- 
der-hearted man  of  affairs. 

"How  he  sympathized  with  and  sustained  his 
invalid  wife,  but  few  could  know.  How  Christian- 
like  were  his  demeanor  and  submission  when  she 
was  taken  from  him,  none  who  knew  him  could 
fail  to  observe.  When  the  son,  on  whom  he  had 
begun  to  lean,  and  who  was  becoming  his  com- 
panion and  his  pride,  was  taken,  the  trial,  though 


An  End  of  Toil. 


179 


sudden,  did  not  find  him  unprepared.  And  when 
he  himself  was  called  away,  no  man  could  doubt 
that  the  blessing  was  eminently  his  which  meets 
those  who,  whether  present  or  absent,  labor  that 
they  may  be  accepted  of  the  Great  Master  of  the 
house  not  made  with  hands." 

Although  Mr.  Haven  was  by  no  means  an  old 
man,  and  was  still  in  vigorous  health,  he  recog- 
nized the  fact  that  the  time  might  come  when  he 
could  no  longer  perform  all  the  duties  of  the  va- 
ried stations  now  occupied  by  him  ;  and  he  shrank 
from  the  thought  of  possibly  being  a  hindrance 
where  he  had  once  been  a  leader.  In  a  pleasant 
address  which  he  made  at  a  Sunday-school  conven- 
tion, not  long  before  his  death,  on  "A  Superintend- 
ent's Duties,"  he  called  attention  to  a  superintend- 
ent's duty  of  resigning  his  post  seasonably.  "It 
is  hard,"  he  said,  "for  an  old  superintendent  to 
admit  that  he  can  no  longer  fill  his  place.  It  re- 
quires grace  to  point  to  a  new  and  younger  work- 
er and  say  in  a  becoming  spirit,  'After  me  cometh 
a  man  who  is  preferred  before  me.'  '  He  must  in- 
crease, but  I  must  decrease.'  Yet  that  may  be  a 
superintendent's  duty ;  and  he  ought  to  be  ready 
for  it  when  the  time  comes." 

From  that  trial  Mr.  Haven  was  spared.  He  died 
"in  his  full  strength."  lie  endured  in  active  and 
efficient  service  "  unto  the  end."  On  the  evening 
of  Saturday,  April  29,  1876,  he  led  his  teachers' 


Character 

and 
Character- 


Growinj* 
old  grace- 
fully. 


180 


A  Model  Superintendent. 


SECTION  VIII. 
Character 

and 

Character- 
istics. 


The  day  of 
rest. 


meeting,  as  was  his  wont,  in  his  home  library-room. 
The  next  morning  he  was  up  early,  in  preparation 
for  the  enjoyments  and  duties  of  the  Lord's  day. 
But  his  toil  on  earth  was  at  an  end.  His  day  of 
rest  had  come.  Before  the  hour  of  his  early  Sun- 
day-school he  was  asleep  in  Jesus.  After  a  spasm 
of  pain,  his  overtaxed  heart  ceased  to  beat.  "  He 
was  not ;  for  God  took  him."  His  death  was  as 
fitting  as  his  life.  It  was  just  on  time.  There  was 
no  failing  of  his  faculties,  no  wasting  of  his  pow- 
ers, no  diminishing  of  his  vital  energies  or  of  his 
practical  efficiency  to  the  last.  It  was  while  he 
stood  ready  to  take  the  next  step  of  duty  in  Chris- 
tian service  that  his  Master  said  to  him,  "  Enter 
thou  into  the  joy  of  thy  Lord" — and  a  cloud  re- 
ceived him  out  of  our  sight. 


INDEX. 


Abreast  with  business,  178. 

Absent  scholars  followed  up,  73,  74. 

Activities,  diffused,  17G. 

Address  before  Congregational 
Union  of  England  and  Wales, 
129-131. 

Admission  certificates,  70. 

Advanced  methods,  15. 

Adventure  and  daring,  93. 

Aggregate  of  charities,  149. 

"Agreeable  Committee,"  an,  63. 

Aiding  in  Arctic  research,  109,  114. 

Aiding  young  men,  145-149. 

Alaska  seal  fisheries,  104-109. 

All  and  each  considered, 51. 

Always  true,  177. 

American  Bible  Society,  vice-presi- 
dent of,  128. 

American  Board,  corporate  member 
of,  128. 

American  College  and  Education 
Society,  president  of,  1 28. 

American  Sunday  School  Union, 
aiding,  32. 

American  Sunday  School  Union, 
vice-president  of,  128. 

American  Tract  Societv,  vice-presi- 
dent of,  128. 

Among  the  records,  G7-77. 

Anniversary,  fiftieth  (Norwich 
Town),  1. 

Anniversary,  fortieth  (Waterford), 
13. 

Anniversary  themes,  83. 

Anniversary,  twenty -fifth  (Water- 
ford),  20". 

Anonymous  giving.  138. 

Another's  mantle,  159. 


Answering    prayer    unconsciously, 

1 43. 
Appointed    to   Lesson   Committee. 

125. 

Apprenticeship  at  business,  8. 
Arranging    International    Lessons. 

12.->-12<5. 

Asylums,  Jericho,  40. 
At  special  services,  78-89. 
Atmosphere,  a  religious,  102. 
Attendance  by  letter,  31. 
Attention  to  scholars  important,  01. 
Attractive  teacher,  an,  172. 
Author,  an  industrious,  101. 
Average  attendance,  31. 
Averages  of  attendance,  class,  30. 
Avoiding  ostentation,  128. 

Bacon's,  the  Rev.  Dr.  L.  W.,  tribute, 
171-173. 

Baker's  Island,  102. 

Ball-playing,  03. 

Banian  growth,  38. 

Banking  and  railroading,  118. 

Bartimetis,  healing  of,  45. 

Beatitudes  recited.  53. 

Beginning,  an  humble,  4,  41. 

Beginning  of  the  American  Sunday- 
school  system,  1. 

Beginnings,  1-11. 

Being  one's  self,  39. 

Bell,  use  of  the,  28. 

Beneficence,  training  to,  32. 

Beneficences,  137-151. 

Benevolent  societies,  interest  in,  1 27- 
1 28. 

Bereavements,  169. 

Bethune,  Divie,  0. 


182 


Index. 


Bible,  the,  a  text-book,  34. 

Bible,  love  of  the,  102,  163,  160. 

Bible  reading  in  course,  65. 

Bible  reading,  methods  of,  51. 

Bible  selections  arranged,  40. 

Bible  study,  training  to,  34. 

Bible  texts  at  breakfast,  162. 

Bible  valleys  and  vineyards,  81-82. 

Bible  words  on  prayer,  82. 

Birth  and  parentage,  3. 

Board  of  Education,  chairman  of, 
127. 

Book-keeping,  9. 

Books,  selection  of,  42. 

Borrowing  for  a  tuition  bill,  5. 

Boy,  a  backward,  spurred,  30. 

Bringing  sunshine,  166. 

Buddington,  S.  O.,  115. 

Building  Aid  Cent  Society,  32-33. 

Burke's  tribute  to  whalers,  93. 

Burned  out  (Waterford),  20. 

Burning  of  church  (New  London), 
29,  32. 

Business  activities,  91-119. 

Business  men  valuable  in  Sunday- 
school,  92. 

California!!  missionary,  a,  143-145. 
Candidacy  for  office.  132. 
Capital  at  God's  call,  140. 
Capital  diminishing,  140. 
Cards,  absentee,  73,  74. 
Cards  of  notification,  55. 
Carte-blanche  for  giving,  143. 
Catholicity,  121,  122,  149. 
Caulkins,  Miss  Frances  Manwaring, 

160. 

Certificates,  admission,  76. 
Certificates,  dismission,  77. 
Certificates,  reward,  76. 
Chapel,  a  new  (New  London),  32. 
Chapel,  a  new  (Waterford),  22. 
Chapell,  R.  IL,  105,  114,  161, 169. 
Chapin's,  President  A.  L.,  tribute, 

154-156,  16.-,. 
Character  and  characteristics,  152- 

180. 


Character  in  perspective,  152-180. 
Chart  of  Kerguelen's  Land,  1 16. 
Cheerfulness,  157. 
Chester,  Hubbard  C.,  115. 
Childhood,  importance  of,  3. 
Childlikeness,  164. 
Chopping  firewood,  4. 
Christian  decision  urged,  34,  65. 
Christmas  giving,  33,  84. 
Christmas  offerings,  33,  84. 
Christmas  services,  84-87. 
Church  attendance,  training  to,  36. 
Church  opposition   to  the  Sunday- 

school,  early,  6. 
Citizenship  honored,  131. 
City  Sunday-school,  a,  25-38. 
Clap-trap  abhorred,  80. 
Class  feeling  promoted,  30. 
Classification  of  teachers  and  schol- 
ars, 15. 

Closing  exercises,  28. 
Colonies,  various,  1 16. 
Combination  Research  and  Whaling 

Expedition,  1 14. 
Comfort  under  slander,  133. 
Commandments  recited,  53. 
Common-school  work,  126-127. 
Communion,  preparation  for,  65. 
Concentration,  power  of,  153. 
Concert,  Sunday-school,  21,  26,  37, 

79-83. 
Concert,  Sunday-school,  methods  of, 

79-83. 
Concert,  Sunday-school,  origin  of, 

79. 
Concert,  Sunday-school,  topics  of,  81 

-83. 

Confidence  essential,  17. 
Congregational  Union   of  England 

and  Wales,  delegate  to,  128. 
Congregational  Union   of  England 

and   Wales,  speech    before,  129- 

131. 
Congregationalism    in    the    United 

States,  130. 
Connection  of  whaling  with  science, 

111. 


I/ll/'.l-. 


183 


Conversation,  personal,  35. 
Counsel,  keeping,  150. 
Country  Sunday-school,  a,  12-24. 
Covering  stingy  givers,  141. 

Daily  I5ible  reading  in  course,  05. 

Day  of  rest,  the,  180. 

Death  of  Mr.  Haven,  180. 

Death  of  Mrs.  Haven,  109. 

Death  of  scholars  noted,  44. 

Dedication  services,  88  89. 

Dedication  ("Waterford),  22-23. 

Deep  waters,  1 70. 

Defeated  at  the  polls,  1 35. 

Denominational  councils,  prominent 
in,  128. 

Desk,  announcements  arranged  for, 
40. 

Desk,  in  the,  50-01. 

Desk  work,  power  of,  50. 

Desolation,  Island  of,  100- 102. 

Devotion  to  the  truth,  103. 

Diffused  activities,  170. 

Dignity  as  a  leader,  51. 

Disappointment  in  the  counting- 
room,  9. 

Disappointments  met  bravely.,  117. 

Disconnection,  power  of,  154. 

Discoveries  by  whalers,  90. 

Dismissal  certificates,  77. 

Distribution  of  property,  151. 

Doctrinal  recitations,  58-01. 

Doctrines  taught,  52-54. 

Doing  all  tilings  well,  119. 

Double  lines  of  Providence.  145. 

Douglas,  Miss  Elizabeth  Lucas,  100. 

Duties  of  a  citizen  performed,  131. 

Duties  of  scholars  noted,  70. 

Early  home,  4. 
Early  hours,  35. 
Earnestness  as  a  leader,  51. 
Easter  services,  80,  109. 


Englishman,  a  New  England,  10 1. 
Enjoying  a  laugh,  03. 
Enjoxing  self-denial,  139. 
Entertaining  angels  unawares,  158. 
Envelope  system,  33. 
Epistles  quoted,  53. 
Equitable  Trust  Company,  1 18. 
European  trip,  120,  170. " 
Example,  influence  of,  3. 
Excused  absences,  31. 
Exercises,  closing,  2s,  01. 
Exercises,  opening,  27,  28,  55. 
Exercises,  opening  and  closing,  55- 

01. 

Exercises,  order  of,  prepared,  41. 
Exercises,  specimen   order  of,  55- 

01. 

Faith  and  works,  1 75. 

Faith  in  danger,  I  74. 

Falling  shadows,  109. 

Family  and  Sunday-school  co-oper- 
ating, 0. 

Family  circle,  100. 

Farm-college  course,  a,  4. 

Farm-work,  4. 

Favorite  truths,  108. 

Feeling  like  a  king.  5. 

Financial  stress,  140. 

Finding  time  for  every  duty,  120. 

Fire  and  its  lessons,  80. 

First  Sunday-school.  5. 

First  superintendency,  12-24. 

Fortieth  anniversary  (Waterford), 
13. 

Fortieth  report  (New  London),  71. 

Freshness  in  questioning,  80. 

Friend  as  well  as  superintendent,  04. 

Gain  in  knowing  methods.  39. 
Garments  exchanged,  158. 
Genevan  Sunday,  a,  171-173. 
Genevan  Sunday-school,  172. 


Education   of  young  men,  helping,    Genius  means  work,  43. 


145-14!). 
Encouraging  others  to  give,  141. 
End  of  toil,  the,  179. 


Gilead  Sunday-school,  20. 
Gilman,  President  Daniel  C.,  127. 
Giving,  a  fixed  habit.  139-140. 


184 


Index. 


Giving  better  than  receiving,  85. 
Giving,  Bible  words  about,  83. 
Giving  by  proxy,  1 42. 
Giving  by  will,  151. 
Giving  systematically,  137-151. 
Giving  with  others,  141, 142. 
Gloria  Patri  recited,  53,  Gl. 
God's  protection  recognized,  1 74. 
Golden  text,  methods  of  using,  54, 

87. 

Golden  text  recited,  54,  87. 
Good  work  essential,  44. 
Governor,  candidate  for,  132. 
Great-heart  recalled,  1 73. 
Griefs,  clustering,  169. 
Grinnell,  Henry,  114. 
Growing  old  gracefully,  178. 
Guano-gathering,  102. 

Hall,  C.  F.,  113-115. 

Hall  of  the  Reformation,  1 71. 

Hall's  first  voyage,  113. 

Hall's  second  voyage,  114. 

Hall's,  the  llev.  Dr.  John,  tribute, 
163-165. 

Haven  and  Smith.  97. 

Haven,  Mrs.,  death  of,  169. 

Haven,  Thomas  Williams,  169. 

Helpers,  good,  how  to  have  them, 
70. 

Helping  into  the  ministry,  146-149. 

Helping  others  to  help  themselves, 
140-142. 

Helping  students.  146-149. 

Henry  Martyn  Missionary  Associa- 
tion, 32,  83. 

Historian,  a  local,  161. 

History,  influence  of,  68. 

Holding  civil  office,  132. 

Home  at  last,  180. 

Home  for  others,  a,  161. 

Home  given  to  young  men,  147. 

Home  parties,  62. 

Home  test,  the,  160. 

Home  traits,  159-162. 

Horse  wanted,  a,  145. 

Household  life,  159-162. 


Household  system,  1G2. 
How  to  jog  the  memory,  173. 
Humble  beginning,  a,  4,  41. 
Hunting  the  sea-elephant  and  seal, 

100-102. 
Hymns,  appropriateness  sought  in, 

43. 

Hymns  arranged  for,  40. 
Hymns,  new  collection  of,  43. 
Hvmns,  reading  in  alternate  verses, 
*52. 

Imitation  by  other  schools,  37. 

Improvements  adopted,  21. 

In  full  strength,  179. 

In  the  desk,  50-61. 

In  the  study,  40-44. 

In  the  wrong  coat,  158. 

Index  of  ledger  record,  71. 

Indexes  made,  43. 

Inquiry  meeting,  35. 

Institute  work,  122,  123. 

Interest  in  uniform-lesson  plan,  124- 
126. 

International    Lesson    Committee, 
124-126. 

Introduction  certificates,  77. 

Invitation  to  house,  49. 

Invitation  to  teachers'  meeting,  48. 

Invitations  to  former  scholars,  75. 

Invitations  to  outsiders,  75. 
I 

Jacobs's,  B.  F.,  tribute,  166. 
I  Jericho  asylums,  46. 

Joe,  Esquimaux,  115. 

flogging  the  boys'  memory,  1 73. 

Joining  the  church,  11. 

Judicious  giving,  141. 

Kane.  Dr.,  on  the  seal,  108. 
Keeping  his  own  counsel,  1 56. 
Keeping  others  at  work,  50. 
Keeping  track  of  old  members,  70. 
Kerguelen's     Land.  100-102,  108, 

109,  1 16. 

Kergnelen's  Land,  chart  of,  116. 
Kindliness  as  a  leader,  51. 


Index. 


185 


Labor  in  every  department,  42. 

Landscape,  a  tempting,  172. 

Latlirop,  Harriet,  0. 

Lay  preaching,  121. 

Lease    of   sealing    privileges,    106, 

107. 

Ledger  record,  09-72. 
Legislative  service,  132. 
Length  of  session,  28. 
Lesson  Committee,  124-120. 
Lesson    Committee's    tribute,  1G3- 

167. 

Letter  or  spirit,  150. 
Letting  things  drop,  153. 
Library,  a  growing,  42. 
Library,  selection  of.  42. 
Library  well  arranged,  43. 
Lifting  with  others,  141,  142. 
Linking  the  services,  78. 
Lists  of  punctual  members,  77. 
Living  by  faith,  143-14"). 
London  Sunday-school  Union,  1  70. 
Looking  after  the  scholars,  02. 
Looking  forward,  1 08. 
Looking  up  charities.  144. 
Lord's  Prayer,  use  of  the,  28,  52. 
Love  of  the  Word,  102,  103,  100. 
Loved  and  missed,  107. 
Loving  a  laugh,  157. 

Making  ready,  40. 
Manner  in  the  desk,  51. 
Many-sidedness,  177. 
Marriage,  100. 

Mayflower,  voyage  of  the,  1 29. 
Mayor  of  New  London,  1 32. 
Meeting  losses  bravely,  117. 
Memorandum,  value  of  a,  40. 
Memorized  Scripture,  107. 
Memorizing  secured,  53. 
Methodical  in  everything,  43. 
Methods  and  helps,  39-90. 
Methods  of  Bible  reading,  51. 
Methods  of  recitation,  51. 
Methods,  variety  in,  54. 
Ministry,  increase  of,  140-149. 
Missionary  families,  101-102. 


Missionary  offerings,  GO. 
Missionary  openings  through  whal- 
ers, 96. 

Morgan,  ('apt.  Kbenezer,  105,  1 15. 
Morning  sessions,  26. 
Multiplying  one's  self,  50. 

National  Bank  of  Commerce,  118. 
National  Council  of  Congregational 

Churches,  delegate  from,  128. 
National  services  of  winders,  95. 
National  Sundav-school  Convention, 

fifth,  123. 

Neighborhood  changed,  a,  18. 
New  home,  8. 
New  light  on  duty,  149. 
New  London  Citv  National  Bank, 

118. 

New  London  County  Foreign  Mis- 
sionary Association,  secretary  of, 

127. 

New  London  fisheries.  98. 
New    London    Northern    Railroad 

Company,  118. 
New   London   Sunday  -  school.  25- 

38. 

New-year's  gatherings,  02. 
Night  work,  10. 
Normal  class,  15. 
Normal  class  and  teachers'  meeting 

combined,  47. 

Normal  School  (State),  aided,  127. 
Northrop,  Professor  B.  G.,  127. 
Norwich  Town  Sunday-school,  5. 
Not  afraid,  1  74. 
'Notification,  cards  of,  55. 
Notifying  needed  helpers,  55. 

Official  connection  with  benevolent 

societies,  127.  I2S. 
One  thing  at  a  time.  153,  154. 
One  Word  of  God,  the,  165. 
Opening  exercises,  27,  28. 
Order  of  exercises,  41,  55-01. 
Origin  of  International  Lessons,  123. 
Origin   of  Sunday  -  school   concert, 

79. 


186 


Index. 


Originality  of  plans,  16. 
Originating  New   London    evening 

schools,  127. 

Ostentation  avoided,  138. 
Outside  Sunday-school  work,  120. 

Palmer.  Capt.  Nathanael  B.,  110. 

Palmer's  Land,  111. 

Pardee,  li.  G.,92. 

Partisan  unfairness,  132-135. 

Partnerships,  97. 

Pastor's  work  for  scholars,  78. 

Patient  continuance,  9.  24,  31. 

Pattern  of  new  methods,  a,  3. 

Peculiarities  of  the  seal,  107-109. 

Perkins,  Francis  Allyn,  1 70. 

Perseverance  exhibited,  9,  24,  31. 

Persistency  in  attendance,  20. 

Perspective  of  character,  152-180. 

Phoenix  Island  group,  103. 

Picnics,  62. 

Pilgrim  fathers,  129. 

Pioneer  in  the  Sunday-school,  a,  2. 

Pioneers  of  the  sea,  94. 

Plan  of  giving  revised,  149. 

Plan  of  systematic  giving  revised, 

149. 

Playing  ball,  63. 
Pleasant  memory,  a.  175. 
Polar  explorations,  109-116. 
Polaris  expedition,  114, 115. 
Porter,  President  Noah,  4, 127. 17(5- 

179. 

Posthumous  giving,  150. 
Power  of  concentration,  153. 
Power  of  disconnection,  153, 154. 
Power  of  secretiveness,  J56. 
Praise  services,  86. 
Prayer  and  its  lessons,  82. 
Prayer  arranged  for,  40. 
Prayer  for  the  scholars,  48. 
Prayer,  notification  of,  55. 
Prayer  with  the  teachers,  48. 
Praying  for  their  classes,  teachers, 

49. 

Preaching  to  children,  78. 
Preparation  looked  to,  40. 


Preparing  for  communion,  65. 
Presentation  of  books,  65. 
Primary  object  of  the  Sundav-school, 

61. 

Printing-press,  help  of,  26. 
Product  of  the  Sunday-school,  a,  2. 
Profitable  whaling  voyage,  a.  98. 
Profitableness  of  fisheries,  101. 
Promoted,  10. 
Providential  giving,  143. 
Proxy,  giving  by,  142. 
Psalms  recited,  53. 
Public  services,  120-136. 
Pullman  car,  worship  on,  167. 
Punctuality,  prominence  of,  29,  30. 

Quarterly  reviews,  86. 

Queen  Victoria,  tribute  to,  131. 

Questions  from  the  desk,  52. 

Railroading  and  banking,  118. 

Readiness  to  depart,  1 79. 

Rebuilding  the  church  (New  Lon- 
don), 32. 

Recitations,  methods  of,  51. 

Record  of  contributions,  77. 

Record  of  fifty  years,  a,  7. 

Records,  among  the,  67-77. 

Records  and  statistics,  26. 

Records  made,  67. 

Registration,  67. 

Relief  in  change  of  work,  119. 

Heligion  and  business,  91. 

Religious  activities  outside,  120-136. 

Religious  class,  66. 

Repartee,  keenness  in,  158. 

Heport,  fortieth  (New  London),  71. 

Representative  in  Legislature,  132. 

Republican  candidate  for  governor- 
ship, 132. 

Resigning  in  good  time,  1 79. 

Responsibilities,  growing,  19. 

Hesponsive  readings,  15,  26. 

Resurrection,  prominence  of  ijie, 
168. 

Revenue,  government,  from  Alaska, 
107. 


Index. 


187 


Reverence  as  a  leader,  51. 
Reverence  promoted,  89. 
Review,  half-yearly,  86. 
Review,  quarterly,  86. 
Review  questioning,  86. 
Revised  plan  of  giving,  1 49. 
Reward  certificates,  77. 
Risks,  large  and  imminent,  1 1 7. 
Russian   wonder   at    Yankee   enter- 
prise, 1 10. 
Ruts  avoided,  54. 

Sabbatical  years,  21. 

Schauffler  Missionary  Society,  07. 

Schedule  of  exercises,  55-61. 

Scholars,  with  the,  61-07. 

Scoresby,  William,   and    polar    re- 
search, 111,  112. 

Scripture  lighting  Scripture,  105. 

Scripture  readings,  29. 

Sea-elephanting,  98. 

Seal  fisheries,  Alaska,  104-109. 

Sealing,  99. 

Seal-killing,  107. 

Secretary's  importance,  07. 

Secretiveness,  power  of,  156. 

Seeing  in  the  dark,  167. 

Seeking  plums,  166. 

Sensitiveness  of  the  seal,  108. 

Sermons  to  children,  80,  78. 

Service  of  dedication,  22-23. 

Services,  Christmas,  84-87. 

Services,  Easter,  80,  109. 

Services,  order  of,  26,  55-61. 

Services,  public.  120-136. 

Serving  God  all  the  week,  91,92. 

Seven-year  Bibles,  22. 

Sheaves  in  the  harvest,  8. 

Shipman,  the  Rev.  T.  L.,  158. 

Shipping    guano,  dangers    of,   103, 
104. 

Simple  tilings  the  harder,  the,  13. 

Sister's  influence,  a,  161. 

Small  wages,  8. 

Sneers  endured  with  grace,  135. 

Something  for  all,  155. 

Souls,  working  for,  35. 
13 


Special  services,  at,  78-89. 
Special  services,  importance  of,  78. 
Specimen   order  of  exercises,  55- 

61. 

Spirit,  or  letter,  150. 
Spiritual  results,  19,  20. 
St. George's  Island,  106, 107. 
St.  Paul's  Island,  100, 107. 
Starbuck's  report  of  whale  fisheries, 

94. 
Starting  one  into  the  ministry,  147, 

148. 

Steam  whalers,  98. 
Stewardship,  Christian,  recognized, 

137-151. 

Straight  forward,  90. 
Straitened  circumstances,  4. 
Strawberries  and  cream,  63. 
Strawberries  without  cream,  64. 
Strength  and  beauty,  175. 
Study,  in  the,  40-44*. 
Studying  the  records,  72. 
Success  through  hard  work,  41. 
Summer  evening  parties,  62. 
Sunday  -  school    expenses    met    by 

church,  37. 
Superintendency,  first,  12. 
Superintendency,  second,  25. 
Superintendent's  power  in  the  desk, 

50. 

Supplemental  lessons,  53. 
Supplying  a  Baptist  pulpit,  121. 
Sympathy  with  scientific  research, 

"  109. 

System  and  consecration,  89. 
System,  attention  to,  157. 
System  of  records,  09-72. 
Systematic     Beneficence     Society, 

president  of,  1 28. 
Systematic  giving,  26, 137, 151. 

Tact  shown,  45. 

Te  Deum  Laudamus  used,  53. 

Teachers  drawn  out,  45. 

Teachers'  institutes,  participant  in, 

127. 
Teachers'  meeting  essential,  44. 


188 


Index. 


Teachers'  meeting  illustrated,  45. 
Teachers'  meeting,  methods  in,  45. 
Teachers'  meeting,  perseverance  in, 

48. 

Teachers'  meeting  practicable,  44. 
Teachers'  meetings,  15,  26,44-48. 
Teachers  spurred,  47. 
Teachers  tenderly  considered,  45. 
Teachers  urged   to   pray  for   their 

scholars,  49. 
Teachers  urged  to  pray  with  their 

scholars,  49. 

Teachers,  with  the,  44-50. 
Teaching  methods  illustrated,  47. 
Tenderness  and  submission,  178. 
Tenderness  as  a  leader,  51. 
Test  of  a  good  school,  61. 
Thomson,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Joseph  P., 

128. 

Time  found,  41. 
Tracts,  use  of,  35. 
Tribute,  B.  F.  Jacobs's,  166. 
Tribute,  John   Wanamaker's,  173- 

175. 
Tribute,  Lesson  Committee's,  163- 

167. 
Tribute,  President  A.  L.  Chapin's, 

154-156,165. 
Tribute,  President  Noah   Porter's, 

176-179. 
Tribute,  the  Rev.  Dr.  J.  H.  Vincent's, 

166,167. 
Tribute,  the  Rev.  Dr.  John  Hall's, 

163-165. 
Tribute,  the  Rev.  Dr.  L.  W.  Bacon's, 

171-173. 
Tyson,  George  E.,  115. 

Uniform  lessons,  15,  21, 123-126. 
Unpromising  district,  an,  12. 
Urging  Christian  decision,  34,  65. 
Use  of  history,  68. 

Vacations,  17,  32. 


Vallevs  and  vineyards.  Bible,  81, 
82. 

Variety  in  work,  155. 

Variety  secured,  54. 

Venus,  transit  of,  116. 

Vincent's,  the  Rev.  Dr.  J.  H.,  trib- 
ute, 163-165. 

Vineyards  and  valleys,  Bible,  81, 
82. 

Wanamaker's,  John,  tribute,  173- 
175. 

War  record  (New  London),  71,  72. 

War  risks,  103. 

Waterford  Sunday-school,  12-24. 

Week-day  workers  needed  in  Sun- 
day-school, 91. 

Weekly  class  offerings,  33. 

Weighed  in  the  balances,  134. 

Whale  fisheries,  93-100. 

Whaling  combined  with  research, 
111.112,114. 

Whaling,  rise  and  decadence  of, 
97. 

Wheels  within  wheels.  90. 

Will,  its  provisions,  151. 

Willcox,  the  Rev.  Dr.  George  B., 
36,  79. 

Williams,  C.  A.,  103,  105. 
I  Williams, Thomas  W.,  8,  93,  97. 
!  Winslow,  Mrs.  Myron,  7. 
1  Winter  sessions,  1 7. 

With  the  scholars,  61-67. 
i  With  the  teachers,  44-50. 

Wood  worth,  Oliver,  71. 
i  Words  of  dedication,  88,  89. 

World-wide  enterprise,  1 1 6. 

Worship,  importance  of,  26. 

Yankee  enterprise,  104-106. 
Yielding  gracefully,  164,  165,  167. 
Young  men  helped  and  encouraged, 

145-149.. 
Young  Men's  Christian  Union,  67. 


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